Russia 2018 W/Cup: FIFA heading for sponsorship crisis

FIFA are heading for a sponsorship crisis a year on from president Gianni Infantino’s first Congress at which he pledged to restore confidence following Sepp Blatter’s corrupt regime.

World football’s ruling body made a loss of $369million (£289million) in 2016 and 23 backers still have to be found for a sponsorship model that has 34 slots to fill.

Blue-chip firms such as Castrol, Continental Tyres and Johnson & Johnson have been lost, with no replacements emerging.

The biggest hole is at the third tier, which has 20 places available. Only one has been brought on board, a Russian bank who are understood to be paying well below the ambitious, £7.8m asking price. Even a home World Cup next year has failed to attract significant Russian interest.

FIFA’s best hope of restoring their finances is to set plans in motion at the forthcoming Congress for a joint bid from the USA, Mexico and Canada to stage the 2026 World Cup. That way, big American companies might come to the rescue.

Meanwhile, still on the FIFA gravy train is former FA chairman Geoff Thompson, who carries on receiving £78,000-a-year plus a daily expenses allowance for chairing the dispute resolution chamber, six years after he left the executive.