Top sponsors put pressure on Fifa
Following the latest FIFA scandal with the arrests of top officials, top sponsors are putting increasing pressure on the world governing body. Visa called for "swift and immediate measures" to resolve the problems within Fifa.
"We have informed Fifa that we will re-evaluate our sponsorship if they do not address the issues," Visa said in a statement. The South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai also emphasized in a statement that it would be monitoring the situation closely. "As a company that places the highest value on ethical standards and transparency, we are extremely concerned about the legal action taken against certain FIFA executives."
Visa and Hyundai and its sister company Kia Motors are among FIFA's permanent marketing partners alongside Adidas, Coca-Cola and Gazprom. Emirates airline and Sony left this pool at the end of 2014. Instead, talks are currently underway with Samsung and Qatar Airways. Before the corruption investigations against numerous top football officials became known, Coca-Cola and Visa had already called on FIFA last week to take more decisive action against human rights violations in World Cup host country Qatar. (SDA)
