Coca-Cola, McDonald's call for FIFA's Sepp Blatter to step down

Coca-Cola spends more money on FIFA and the World Cup than it does on any other sport, including the Olympics

Top sponsors of FIFA called for Joseph "Sepp" Blatter to step down immediately as president of soccer's governing body following a sweeping scandal involving allegations of bribes and kickbacks dating back decades.

Shortly after Coca-Cola issued a demand for Blatter to go on Friday afternoon, FIFA's other US-based backers - Visa, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and McDonald's - followed suit, all saying that meaningful reform is impossible under the current leadership.

Blatter's departure would allow a "credible and sustainable reform process" to begin, Coca-Cola said in its statement. "Every day that passes, the image and reputation of FIFA continues to tarnish."

The moves follow the announcement last week by Swiss prosecutors that they have opened a criminal probe into the 79-year-old Blatter, who has led FIFA since 1998. He has denied any wrongdoing and said on Friday that he wouldn't leave office before a scheduled special election in February.

"While Coca-Cola is a valued sponsor of FIFA, Blatter respectfully disagrees with its position and believes firmly that his leaving office now would not be in the best interest of FIFA nor would it advance the process of reform " said Richard Cullen, Blatter's attorney."Therefore, he will not resign."

Blatter was re-elected to the post on May 29. Four days later, he announced his plans to leave office this winter, amid a crisis sparked by a US. Department of Justice indictment that accused several senior current and former FIFA officials of engaging in "rampant" corruption dating back to 1991.

FIFA could force Blatter to go. He is currently the subject of an investigation by an internal ethics committee, which could decide to suspend him, effectively ending his tenure.

Coca-Cola, which spends more money on FIFA and the World Cup than it does on any other sport, including the Olympics, has a long history as one of FIFA's top sponsors and a relationship with Blatter that goes back 40 years. Blatter was plucked from relative obscurity in 1975 to lead a FIFA's then-new global development programme, funded by Coca-Cola. It was called Project One, and its purpose was to spread the gospel of soccer to corners of the world where the sport was not the powerhouse it had become in Europe and South America - and to provide Coke with a global audience.

"The whole foundation of FIFA and Blatter is built on the foundation of the marketing skills of the Coca-Cola company," Patrick Nally, an Englishman whose marketing company West Nally was part of a group that hired Blatter to lead the program, said in a phone interview. "No Coke, no Blatter."

Today, the relationship is more visible than ever. Part of the current marketing agreement - worth about $100 million per four-year World Cup cycle - gives Coca-Cola the opportunity to take the World Cup trophy on a sponsored tour. It's made stops in 145 countries since 2006.

FIFA's finances have also exploded during this time. The quadrennial World Cup brings in more than $5 billion, about 30 per cent of which comes from marketing sales, including deals with Coke, McDonald's and Adidas. Contributions from TV companies that broadcast the 32-team event account for 43 percent of FIFA's revenue and provide the platform for sponsors to blitz viewers around the globe.

Hours before Coca-Cola released its statement, Transparency International, one of FIFA's harshest critics, told Bloomberg that the sponsors had a huge responsibility to force change at the beleaguered soccer governing body.

"Money is central to FIFA's corruption problems," Cobus de Swardt, managing director of Transparency International, said in an e-mail. "Sponsors provide a substantial amount to FIFA and as such should be particularly concerned about corruption in FIFA."