Sponsors should be “fighting” to be part of FIFA but aren’t because of the governing body’s tarnished image, site says presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein.
The head of the Jordan Football Association was speaking at the opening of the Soccerex Asian Forum at the Dead Sea Resort in Jordan on Sunday.
Prince Ali, medic who contests the presidency with Luis Figo, UEFA’s Michael van Praag and incumbent Sepp Blatter later this month, believed that FIFA’s recent controversies have put a dent in their market value to sponsors.
“When it comes to commercial aspects the reality is commercially, the sponsors, they should be fighting to sponsor and to support FIFA,” he said.
“But right now the way I see it is some have pulled out and others are hesitant. There is an image problem. We have to bring that dynamic where sponsors are keen. That is really fundamental.”
Prince Ali’s comments come just weeks away from the election in Zurich where Blatter is expected to secure a fifth term in office.
Sony and Emirates were the biggest sponsors to leave FIFA last year, though neither company explicitly said it was because of controversies linked with the organisation such as the Michael Garcia investigation into the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups – awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively.
But one way not to provoke rumours would be for the organisation to be more “open” about themselves, according to Prince Ali.
“I think we have to be a lot more open and transparent in how we do things” he said. “There’s nothing to hide, or there shouldn’t be. We have to have a regional outlook. They have their specific challenges. You cannot run everything from Zurich.
“FIFA has a good budget but should put much more percentage back in to the game. I take UEFA for example; at least 80 per cent of their budget goes back into football and that’s how it should be.”
The FIFA executive committee member – who will leave FIFA if he doesn’t win the presidency after four years due to his seat being taken by AFC president Sheikh Salman – admitted he didn’t know the exact numbers of FIFA’s budget, but to give an indication last year’s World Cup in Brazil generated record revenue of around $2 billion.
Figo, Van Praag and Blatter were all invited to Jordan but did not attend the Soccerex convention.
Jordan twist and flair
The 2016 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan will open up plenty of commercial opportunities in the Middle East, according to the ceo of the local organising committee.
In a panel at convention, Samar Nassar explained how the organising committee had been trying to galvanise the private sector in Jordan in backing the historic showpiece.
The tournament will be the first edition of a FIFA World Cup held in the Middle East – and Nassar believed that put Jordan in a unique business position.
“We have a couple of companies here at the convention who are potential sponsors,” she said. “We’re definitely hosting a FIFA tournament who we’re modelling our marketing on but giving it a Jordanian twist and flair. There are plenty of opportunities for regional and national companies.
“The government has handled infrastructure, but to be able to organise an event of this magnitude we’re counting on national support. Definitely in a high profile tournament there are a whole range of events that are coming ahead leading up to the competition which they can capitalise on great exposure and awareness.”
The event will be warm up of sorts for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022, so an insight into the region’s sports business market at such an event could prove invaluable.
Serie A and La Liga overseas game dream
Both Serie A and La Liga are both close to arranging overseas regular league fixtures, according to two club executives.
The Premier League faced staunch criticism when it tried to launch the proposal of playing a ‘39th game’ abroad but Japp Kalma, Commercial Director at AC Milan and Malaga CF vice-president Moayad Shatat both expressed their support for a similar plan at the Soccerex Convention.
Kalma admitted that Serie A was already seriously considering the possibility.
“It’s one of the things we’re discussing, yes,” he said. “I see it happening. What we have been doing in the past already with the Super Coppa, so that’s the winner of the Coppa Italia plays against the winner of the national league, and that was in Qatar. Also in the past we’ve done that abroad.
“But that’s a relatively easy match because that’s not a match that is part of a competition. One of the other things in Serie A we are studying having a season opener or another emblematic match during the season which is played abroad.”
The NBA and the NFL both have fixtures overseas in their regular seasons, but the prospect is new to the world of football.
Shatat said though that seeing a La Liga match live would help the league connect with an international fanbase.
“Nothing can beat the experience of a live event,” Shatat said. “We can push it through different channels like social media, but nothing can beat the live experience. That [games abroad] will hopefully happen with regular season matches.
“That is why in La Liga we created this new tournament that started last year; the La Liga World Challenge where the clubs are travelling abroad and playing friendly matches and tournaments in order for the fans to experience La Liga live.
He added: “We believe the experience of a live event is unbeatable and we want to bring that experience closer to the fans and then taking it from there, nothing can beat the passion and excitement of watching a La Liga match live.”