AFP, London :
World governing body FIFA confirmed on Friday that three major sponsors have ended their relationships with the organisation, but said there was nothing unusual about the development.
Oil manufacturers Castrol, tyre company Continental and healthcare giant Johnson and Johnson have followed Emirates and Sony by choosing not to renew contracts with FIFA that expired last year.
British newspaper the Daily Telegraph claimed the three companies had been deterred by allegations of corruption that have been levelled at FIFA following the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
But in a statement sent to AFP, FIFA marketing director Thierry Weil said: “Rotations at the end of a sponsorship cycle are commonplace in the sports industry and have continuously occurred since the commercialisation of the FIFA World Cup began.
“It is natural that as brands’ strategies evolve they reassess their sponsorship properties.
“The contracts with Castrol, Continental and Johnson and Johnson were always planned to run until the end of 2014 and therefore expired on 31 December 2014 accordingly.”
Weil added that FIFA was in “advanced negotiations with a number of companies” regarding sponsorship deals for the next World Cup cycle.
FIFA has already signed up Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom as a commercial partner ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
World governing body FIFA confirmed on Friday that three major sponsors have ended their relationships with the organisation, but said there was nothing unusual about the development.
Oil manufacturers Castrol, tyre company Continental and healthcare giant Johnson and Johnson have followed Emirates and Sony by choosing not to renew contracts with FIFA that expired last year.
British newspaper the Daily Telegraph claimed the three companies had been deterred by allegations of corruption that have been levelled at FIFA following the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
But in a statement sent to AFP, FIFA marketing director Thierry Weil said: “Rotations at the end of a sponsorship cycle are commonplace in the sports industry and have continuously occurred since the commercialisation of the FIFA World Cup began.
“It is natural that as brands’ strategies evolve they reassess their sponsorship properties.
“The contracts with Castrol, Continental and Johnson and Johnson were always planned to run until the end of 2014 and therefore expired on 31 December 2014 accordingly.”
Weil added that FIFA was in “advanced negotiations with a number of companies” regarding sponsorship deals for the next World Cup cycle.
FIFA has already signed up Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom as a commercial partner ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
