By Andrew Warshaw
June 1 – FIFA’s links with China have been further cemented by the announcement of another Chinese World Cup sponsor, with smartphone company Vivo named as the latest commercial backer for both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
Vivo’s contract is for second-tier sponsorship and although no figure has been revealed, unconfirmed reports put it at €450 million, a timely boost for world football’s governing body which has been struggling to tie up fresh commercial deals having lost the likes of Sony and Emirates.
Vivo thus becomes the third World Cup partner signed from China since FIFA President Gianni Infantino took office 15 months ago, a potentially significant move not only to China’s hopes of hosting the World Cup in either 2030 or 2034 but also, financially, in terms of Infantino’s pledge to massively increase development funding to FIFA’s 211 members.
Wanda, a real estate and media conglomerate, has already signed as a top-tier sponsor through 2030 while consumer electronics firm Hisense is on board for Russia next year. Qatar Airways also signed on as official airline sponsor though to the end of 2022 last month.
Since the last World Cup in Brazil, China is the only country outside Russia and Qatar themselves to have provided new sponsors with western markets still sceptical about committing because of the ongoing corruption scandal surrounding FIFA, and the concurrent American and Swiss investigations.
According to agency reports, FIFA still has 22 vacant slots in a 34-sponsor programme for 2018, with just a year to go.
Vivo’s previous involvement with sport was as title sponsor of cricket’s Indian Premier League and becomes FIFA’s 12th sponsor for next year’s World Cup.
“The global reach of this six-year partnership is set to take Vivo to new heights,” a FIFA statement said. “The Vivo logo will appear during every match on pitch advertising boards, match tickets, media releases and other key promotional platforms.
“The agreement includes special marketing activations such as the right to select guests to be a Vivo phone photographer during pre-match player warm-ups. Vivo will also gradually introduce a customised FIFA World Cup™ phone that will offer a unique experience for football fans around the world.”
According to the Financial Times, Vivo is the world’s fifth-biggest seller of mobile phones but it is yet to launch products in Europe and North America. “We are a young and fast-growing company, and a sponsorship on the scale of this one is a statement of intent about the global arrival of Vivo,” Ni Xudong, the company’s executive vice-president, was quoted as saying.
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