PET PROJECT: FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the Asian Football Confederation or AFC Annual Award Seoul 2023, ceremony at the Grand Peace Palace in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. Pic: AP Photo/Lee Jin-man
Fifa is in dispute with its long-term partners Adidas and Coca-Cola over sponsorship rights for next year’s Club World Cup in the United States. Separate cases have been lodged at the Swiss Arbitration Centre in Zurich are expected to be heard in the coming weeks, the Guardian understands.
Fifa has announced only one sponsor for a tournament set to feature 32 clubs in an expanded format heavily backed by its president, Gianni Infantino. That is believed to relate to disputes with Adidas and Coca-Cola over an agreement in their deals that Fifa will include them as official sponsors of all its competitions.
Sources have told the Guardian that both companies are “less than thrilled with the situation” after Fifa attempted to negotiate new contracts for the revamped Club World Cup. Adidas and Coca-Cola signed deals to 2030 thought to be worth about $70m for each four-year cycle and are believed to have been unwilling to enter a tender process. The Swiss Arbitration Centre is a dispute resolution mechanism often favoured by multinational companies.
Insiders have accused world football’s governing body of prioritising the tournament and its projected new income streams over existing relationships with some of its most loyal sponsors. The 2026 World Cup sponsor Bank of America and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are among those thought to have been approached regarding Club World Cup sponsorship.
A Fifa spokesperson said: “We are contracting or in advanced negotiations with a range of tournament partners for the new Fifa Club World Cup, and will be announcing the first major partnerships in the coming month. The interest from the market is very strong, and the deals being negotiated are with both new brands and existing Fifa sponsors.”
Adidas has been a top-tier sponsor of the World Cup since 1970. Coca-Cola became Fifa’s drinks partner in 1978 and has had stadium advertising at every men’s World Cup since 1950. A spokesperson for Adidas said that “as a longstanding partner of Fifa for all their tournaments we continue our work and planning for a successful Fifa Club World Cup 2025”.
A Coca-Cola spokesperson said: “As one of the longest-standing corporate partners of Fifa, we value our relationship and remain focused on continuing our successful partnership together and refreshing and engaging fans around the world.” Concerns over sponsorship have been one of many problems faced by organisers of the Club World Cup as Fifa continues to search for a broadcaster for a tournament one source has described as “Gianni’s vanity project”. Talks over a global streaming deal with Apple+ broke down this year and US sponsors are said to have been more focused on deals for the men’s 2026 World Cup that will be co-hosted with Canada and Mexico.
On Wednesday Fifa unveiled the Chinese consumer electronics firm Hisense as its first sponsor for next year’s Club World Cup. It will show advertising over VAR checks during the tournament, which is scheduled to run from 15 June to 13 July.
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