FIFA forces partners on host cities, says newspaper

FIFA has been putting pressure on the venues for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ for the hiring of the companies which are partners of this institution, according to the Folha de São Paulo newspaper.

The news report, published this Monday (June 13th), presents a copy of the document signed by Jay Neuhaus, the Marketing Director of FIFA in Brazil, insisting on the choice of ADM, which is a partner company to the most important world institution in the soccer area, for the preparation of small mementoes, caps and key rings. Mr. Neyhaus makes the message clear: either the venue hires the services of ADM, or the city will be required to pay 17% as a licensing FEE should they choose another manufacturer. “We expect your co-operation in choosing ADM. We feel that the host cities, being Government entities, are linked up to the tender processes, but we hope to find a way of making sure that ADM is always part of this process”, says the text.

Another person to make recommendations is Carlos de la Corte, who is the COL consultant responsible for the assessment of the stadiums used. He asks the consideration of the “possibility of a partnership” with a Chinese solar energy company, Yingli, also a FIFA sponsor. Thierry Weil, the Marketing Director for FIFA, also suggests the hiring of the services of Liberty Seguros, yet another FIFA partner. In common, the letters and e-mails ask for “collaboration” at the host cities, and suggest that they must comply with the FIFA suggestions, lest they have to make a tender and bear the costs of making the winning company suitable for the requirements as enforced by the institution.

“Standard Conduct”
Asked about the controversy, FIFA sustains the idea that the sending of notifications to the venues offering partnerships with sponsors is “standard conduct”. The Local Organizing Committee (Comitê Organizador Local – COL) has also declared that Carlos de la Corte is an outsourced consultant and cannot answer for them. In a note, ADM replied that the venues are indeed “encouraged” to hire their services, but also alleged that there is no influence from FIFA, this being the same reason alleged  by Liberty and Yingli. According to the 12 venues, none of the companies suggested by FIFA has been hired so far.