FIFA posts losses of £67m for 2015 in wake of current crisis
Thursday 3 December 2015 08:27, UK
The crisis engulfing FIFA has seen the organisation post a loss of £67m in 2015, caused by loss of sponsorship deals and legal expenses.
A number of blue chip companies - including 'top tier partners' Emirates and Sony - have decided not to renew their agreements with FIFA, leading to them report an annual loss for the first time since 2001.
FIFA has insisted the deficit was a forecast rather than the final figure which they believe could still be altered, which factors such as changes in currency values potentially affecting the final total.
The loss remains a substantial one though, and FIFA's executive committee (ExCo) members now find themselves under increased pressure to vote for proposed reforms at its meeting on Thursday as they attempt to attract new sponsors.
World football's governing body usually sees a drop in income the year after World Cups but it has previously managed to make a surplus, including in 2011 when a £24m profit was generated to add to its reserves, which currently total around £1billion.
The outlay on legal bills in relation to the current crisis has also proved costly, with suspended president Sepp Blatter opting to bring in a team of American lawyers to fight FIFA's cause after the US justice department announced its indictments of 18 officials on football-related corruption charges in May.
Cost-cutting measures have been introduced to try and improve the financial situation at FIFA but they were not enough to prevent a loss being recorded for the first time in 14 years, when the bankruptcy of its marketing partner ISL in 2001 saw it end the year in the red and forced to take out a £118m bridging loan.
The proposed reforms to be voted on at FIFA's ExCo meeting include 12-year term limits for the president and ExCo members, greater financial transparency, including confirming the salary paid to the president and senior officials.
Another key change to be discussed concerns whether some independent members should be allowed to sit on the ruling committee.
FIFA ExCo's longest-serving member, Belgian Michel D'Hooghe, claimed the future of the organisation depended on the reforms that have been put forward being passed.
"Don't think that FIFA is dead. I have the assurance that if FIFA and the Congress can accept the reforms then FIFA has a good future," he said.
"But we must know that this is a deep crisis, we must accept that and approach that with great humility.
"This is a difficult moment financially but the expectations are good I'm sure in the longer term FIFA will overcome that."
