Global soccer's governing body FIFA is in legal dispute with two of its key commercial partners - Adidas and Coca-Cola - around Club World Cup (CWC) sponsorship rights, it has been reported.
The Guardian publication has reported that separate cases have now been lodged at the Swiss Arbitration Centre (FIFA is based in Geneva) in Zurich. These are expected to be heard in the next few weeks.
It has been reported that both brands - which have major existing deals with FIFA - are unhappy at being asked to negotiate new deals for the revamped and expanded CWC, which under its new, enlarged, format will take place for the first time in 2025 and will contain 32 teams.
Adidas and Coca-Cola have been FIFA sponsors since 1970 and 1978, respectively, and both have existing deals running through until 2030. Coca-Cola’s seven-year tie-up from 2023 has been valued by GlobalData Sport as worth $400 million in total, while the Adidas deal, stretching between 2015 and 2030, is valued at $800 million all told.
The pair thought those deals would include rights for next year’s CWC in the US - a tournament that so far has unveiled only one official sponsor, Hisense (also an existing FIFA partner).
However, FIFA has reportedly asked them to enter a formal tender process for the rights, something neither brand is currently prepared to do.
In terms of other brands who could yet be announced as CWC partners, The Guardian has claimed that the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Bank of America have both been approached by FIFA.
A FIFA spokesperson has given a statement, saying: “We are contracting or in advanced negotiations with a range of tournament partners for the new FIFA Club World Cup, and will be announcing the first major partnerships in the coming month. The interest from the market is very strong, and the deals being negotiated are with both new brands and existing FIFA sponsors.”
Up until the Hisense tie-up was unveiled earlier this week, FIFA had no sponsors (or indeed broadcast partners) on board for the 32-team event, which is less than eight months away but which has proved extremely controversial with many of soccer’s stakeholders.
Clubs and players in particular are unhappy about the extra games and workload, with a formal complaint and legal action by the players union FIFPRO having been filed around this issue earlier in the year.
In terms of other sponsorship agreements disclosed by FIFA over recent weeks and months, meanwhile, in mid-October multinational tech heavyweight Lenovo came in as a partner for the 2026 and 2030 men’s World Cups.
The governing body’s top sponsor lineup also includes brands such as Aramco, Visa, and Qatar Airways.
The 2025 FIFA CWC will entail a new format in which FIFA’s continental governing bodies will all - apart from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) - receive multiple team slots.
Europe’s UEFA, with 12, will have the most teams involved. The lineup will include Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter Milan, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, and Red Bull Salzburg.
