Russia fails to attract. FIFA is missing millions

Corruption scandals in FIFA, investigations by Swiss police and the U.S. FBI, and growing distrust in one of the world’s biggest sports organizations — the consequences of the Blatter-era scandals are now fully surfacing. Sixteen months before the start of FIFA’s most lucrative event, the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the federation is struggling to attract sponsors. Back in early 2013, ahead of the Brazil World Cup, FIFA had secured 20 commercial partners. Today, it has only nine. What’s more, since Gianni Infantino became FIFA president, the organization has managed to sign only one top-tier sponsor: the Chinese company Wanda Group.

“They’re missing global sponsors, and over the next six months, they’ll have to work hard just to get close to the revenue levels from four years ago,” said sports analyst and football agent Jozef Tokos to Economic Daily.

Since the corruption revelations, several major companies — including Emirates, Sony, Budweiser, Castrol, and Continental — have either pulled out or chosen not to renew their contracts with FIFA. According to fifa.com, sponsorship revenue before the 2014 Brazil World Cup stood at $404 million; by 2015, it had dropped to just $246 million.

A key issue is the lack of top-tier sponsors — so far, only Wanda Group falls into this category. “FIFA’s problems are what concern global brands — and so does the price of such a partnership. Has FIFA really returned to a place where Western corporations are willing to do business again?” asked Andrew Georgiou, CEO of Lagardère Sports and Entertainment, one of the world’s largest sports agencies, in an interview with Bloomberg.

FIFA may also face further damage from an internal investigation into recent years, conducted by the Washington law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Its findings are expected around March or April — just three months before the FIFA Confederations Cup, traditionally a warm-up tournament held one year before the World Cup, this time hosted by Russia.

FIFA has not publicly acknowledged any issues with sponsorship. “The sales process is ongoing, and new partners will join the marketing program before the World Cup,” the federation told Bloomberg. But the numbers tell a different story: after years of financial success, FIFA posted a €122 million loss. Its financial results for last year are expected in a few months.

Alongside efforts to restore trust, new president Gianni Infantino launched a controversial plan to expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams. “The main motivation is to bring in more money for national football associations. It was one of the key points of Infantino’s campaign. If executed well, it could work — especially thanks to countries in Asia,” said Tokos. From 2026, regular World Cup participants could include countries like China, Pakistan, or India — nations that, under the current qualification structure, have virtually no chance of making it to the final tournament.

“Imagine a tournament that features Japan, Korea, China, or even Bangladesh. That kind of World Cup would break viewership records,” Tokos believes.

On the other hand, critics argue that expanding the World Cup will lower the overall quality — not just of the tournament matches, but also of the qualifiers. “Match value is declining. I’ve had several conversations on this topic in both Asia and Africa,” noted Georgiou, referencing the sale of broadcasting rights for qualifiers. In his view, the expansion is purely a political move — one that won’t benefit football in the coming years.