World Cup: Sponsors confirm end of FIFA deals
Friday 23 January 2015 15:18, UK
Continental and Johnson & Johnson have confirmed they have decided not to renew their contracts as World Cup sponsors.
Reports emerged in the press on Friday morning that the two companies, together with Castrol would no longer continue their relationship with FIFA.
However, neither company has said their decisions have anything to do with the bribery and corruption claims surrounding the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
A Continental spokesman told Sky Sports News HQ: “Continental has been very happy with being an official sponsor of three FIFA World Cups and the outcome of these sponsorships/events in terms of our marketing targets.
“Currently we are focusing our sponsorships more on the regions APAC (AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia), EMEA (UEFA EURO 2016 in France) and The Americas (Major League Soccer in the US and Canada).
“Therefore with this in mind we are currently neither under contract as an official sponsor of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia nor the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Johnson & Johnson issued a similar statement: “Johnson & Johnson has decided not to renew its contract as the Official Healthcare Sponsor of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
“That decision was made for business reasons after a customary and comprehensive review of the contract that expired on December 31, 2014.”
FIFA says it is in advanced talks with a number of companies to replace sponsors whose contracts have expired.
Moscow-based oil and gas company Gazprom has already joined as a partner ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, while talks are continuing with other companies.
FIFA's 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 & Johnson were always planned to run until the end of 2014 and therefore expired on December 31, 2014 accordingly.
"As in previous FIFA World Cup cycles, we are now in advanced negotiations with a number of companies related to sponsorship agreements.”
