Sony distances itself from crisis-hit Fifa

FIFA sponsor Sony has said the probe into the bidding to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup “isn’t great” and appeared to distance itself from the football’s world governing body.

Although the company is a member of the FIFA Partners programme, advice Sony’s European head of soccer sponsorships, Toby Shaw, told delegates at the International Football Arena conference in Zurich this is not how they want to be seen.

“We don’t say we’re a partner of FIFA. We say we’re a partner of the World Cup,” Shaw was quoted as saying by news agency Bloomsberg.

The company’s sponsorship agreement with FIFA ends after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and Sony is still considering if it would like to renew it for 2018 and beyond.

“We concentrate on whether it’s right for our business going forward,” he added. “We are still evaluating the last World Cup.”