FIFA try to keep World Cup sponsors happy after ISL scandal

FIFA say their marketing plans for the 2002 World Cup finals and the tournament's financial viability will become clearer next week.

Organisers and television companies want FIFA to underwrite marketing contracts worth nearly £1 billion after the collapse into bankruptcy of their marketing partner ISL last week.

Sponsors contracts with ompanies including brewers Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Hyundai Motor and McDonald's could all be finalised from June 4th according to president Sepp Blatter who may sanction the creation of an entirely new company to look after the interests of the eleven major sponsors.

"Five companies have already offered help," he said with FIFA hiring 75 former staff from ISL to hurry the process along "in order to ensure service to the sponsors and service to the local organising committees" according to Blatter.

"FIFA has started these activities and I will report in more detail to the executive committee of FIFA on June 12th in Zurich," he added.

Blatter and FIFA are still playing up talk of German media firm Kirch taking on media rights to the 2002 and 2006 finals in place of ISL>

FIFA filed criminal charges yesterday against senior managers in its former marketing partner ISMM claiming millions were embezzled from World Cup television rights deals.

The charges will be investigated in the Swiss canton of Zug which declared ISMM bankrupt last month.

"We have decided to take this step on obtaining evidence that payments due to FIFA were being withheld," FIFA President Sepp Blatter said in a statement yesterday.

"This money belongs to football and FIFA intends to do everything in its power to shed light on this affair and to retrieve the money." "As FIFA was unable to keep track of the financial transactions, it regards this account as illicit or secret and the relevant payment as unlawful," Blatter said.

Blatter is fighting for survival in world football's top job after he started to outline the details surrounding secret bank accounts revealed by the bankruptcy of FIFA's marketing partner ISL.

ISL's owner ISMM has denied these alegations.

Former ISMM chairman Christoph Malms says the allegations are "baseless".

Blatter claimed on Friday that he was "incorruptible" and said he had received bribery offers while in office and FIFA are now looking at evidence that a $60 million payment made by Brazilian television network O Globo was diverted into a secret bank account in Liechtenstein. This is the basis for the charges filed yesterday in Zug.

"As FIFA was unable to keep track of the financial transactions, it regards this account as illicit or secret and the relevant payment as unlawful," Blatter said.

UEFA president Lennart Johansson will decide soon if they are to press for Blatter's removal in a vote of no confidence at an Extraordinary Congress in Buenos Aires on July 7th.

FIFA general secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen said last week that Brazilian marketing agency Traffic, who were selling sponsorship and television sales for the owe FIFA $70 million because their contract was still valid despite the postponement of the event last week.

Organisers are to be compensated along with all twelve competing clubs.

FIFA axed the second edition of its World Club tournament last week after the bankruptcy of its marketing partner ISL. The Spanish competition had prize money of $40 million and FIFA has already promised to compensate the clubs for not taking part. That compensation though is likely to be a fraction of the prize money on offer for the title won last year by Sao Paolo club Corinthians.

FIFA under president Sepp Blatter was heavily involved with ISL whose parent company ISMM folded last week with debts of £280 million. FIFA could end up with a £40 million bill for its share of failed television and marketing contracts of which the World Club tournament was one.

FIFA may allow the same 12 clubs that had qualified for the 2001 event compete again in 2003, perhaps by playing the national champions that year. But such a messy and complicated system will be resisted by European clubs choking on the number of fixtures they play.

The Confederations Cup starts tomorrow in Japan and several key stars are missing such as Zinedine Zidane and Roberto Carlos as European clubs try to reduce the number of games their major talent is involved in especially at the end of a long season.

Blatter is seeking re-relection next year as FIFA president but if he loses the vote then the current World Club idea could be scrapped and revised.