Sony has declined to renew its sponsorship contract with world football governing body FIFA.
The Japanese electronics company has been a sponsor of FIFA (and subsequently, the 2010 and 2014 World Cups) since 2005, with the current contract is set to expire at the end of this month. Sony will not be extending it further, according to Nikkei, stating that it would use the funds this year to focus on internal "structural reforms".
That reasoning is certainly believable, as Sony has been struggling financially and cutting out portions of its business. The sponsorship contract ends on December 31, and was worth 33 billion yen (currently $277 million). However, speculation is rampant that Sony is backing out of the sponsorship deal due to FIFA's corrupt reputation, including the investigation into the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
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The football organization ran its own investigation into the allegedly corrupt decision to award Qatar the future World Cup, and unsurprisingly cleared itself. Many have questioned the legitimacy of the report and continued to accuse FIFA of corruption, while Sony itself stated that the organization should be 'investigated appropriately' and 'observe its principles of integrity, ethics and fair play'. Emirates Airlines similarly retracted its sponsorship, but Sony has only cited finances as the cause. In doing so, Sony keeps its relationship intact, but misses the chance to make a public statement against FIFA's behavior and decisions if it does believe corruption has occurred.
