FIFA is "having trouble finding companies willing to be a partner" for the 2018 World Cup, according to Tariq Panja of the N.Y. TIMES. The tournament's roster of sponsors "remains noticeably undersubscribed -- a reflection of how much the reputational damage from a much-publicized" '15 corruption crisis "continues to hurt FIFA's bottom line." This year, while FIFA has "refilled its ranks of top-tier partners with firms in Russia, Qatar and China, only one of the 20 slots available to regional tournament sponsors has been claimed." There has not been a new partner based in either Europe or the U.S. since '11. Since Gianni Infantino became FIFA president in '16, the organization has "managed to secure marquee deals only with companies in countries set to host the World Cup (Russia and Qatar) and another (China) that hopes to do so." That geographic spread "tells its own story," according to sports sponsorship exec Patrick Nally, who helped set up FIFA's first int'l marketing program four decades ago. Nally said, "It's not surprising it's been and still is a toxic brand. Unless you are from China or somewhere like that, where the fact FIFA is in court in New York and associated with corruption doesn't matter, no corporation is going to consider it safe to get involved with FIFA." FIFA did not respond to questions about its sponsorship program. Nally said that FIFA's "association with corrupt behavior now runs so deep" that he suggested the organization "should consider a name change." Nally: "Why not? They need to get bright thinkers to repackage the whole thing. There's just too much baggage to carry." FIFA's challenges "appear even more pointed compared with the amount sponsors have been willing to pay" for the best football properties. ManU and Chelsea, for example, "both doubled the amount they receive for jersey sponsorship with their most recent deals." With just over six months until the World Cup's opening game, "time is also against FIFA." Tim Crow, who recently stepped down as CEO of Synergy, a firm that has advised Olympic and World Cup sponsors, said, "If you are going to do a big deal and want to activate, it's really late. You normally want your campaign in the market now, or by January and February. What's more, it can take anywhere from six months to a year to plan it all." Thus, convincing a company to make a $150M bet on FIFA at this point is a "tough sell" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/28).
