VIARPRODESIGN-FREEPIKhe 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, Qatar, kicked off last Sunday. It started 12 years after the FIFA — Federation Internationale de Football Association — awarded the hosting rights to a tiny but rich Middle East country that has, in the words of football experts, “no soccer pedigree.” It however has the financial muscle to host a massive undertaking featuring the world’s top 32 soccer powers playing 64 matches over the next 30 days.
In an article dated June 9, 2014, writer Seb Joseph reported that sponsors had “broken their silence over the Qatar World cup row.” Joseph claimed that sponsors have heaped pressure on FIFA to tackle corruption charges swirling around the 2022 Qatar World Cup bid. Exerting pressure on FIFA is due to the importance brands give to Corporate Social Responsibility and management and avoidance of repetitional risks.
Yet, when the tournament kicked off on Nov. 20, big brands like adidas, Coca-Cola, and even Budweiser Beer — the sale of which have been banned inside any of the eight stadiums in a big U-turn by Qatar from earlier agreements — and other globally prominent brands still decided to associate themselves with the Qatar soccer festival. It seems that Sony and Emirates are the only brands that decided to cut their ties with the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Brand exposure is just too tempting for sponsors to ignore. FIFA President Gianni Infantino from Italy says that aboutve billion people are expected to watch the month-long extravaganza, exceeding the four billion who watched FIFA Russia 2018. Five billion pairs of eyes to which one’s product is exposed, is nothing to sneeze at.