Report: McDonald’s extends Fifa deal to Qatar 2022
McDonald's has renewed its sponsorship of the Fifa World Cup until the controversial 2022 edition in Qatar, according to Brazilian sports business news outlet Maquina Do Esporte.
The fast food chain has reportedly agreed a deal with Fifa to continue as the official restaurant of the global governing body for the next eight years. Its sponsorship would therefore the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia and the following edition in Qatar four years later.
As part of its new deal, McDonald’s would retain the right to sponsor the child mascots who accompany the players onto the field before each World Cup match.
If confirmed, McDonald's would join Coca-Cola, Gazprom, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Visa, Adidas and Hyundai-Kia as partner of both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
Fifa has already announced that it will open up regional sponsorship packages for the World Cups in Russia and Qatar. The regional categories will replace the existing national supporter level sponsorships in place for the 2010 tournament in South Africa and this year’s event in Brazil.
The new regional categories will open up slots for up to 20 companies in North America, South America, Europe, Middle East & Africa and Asia, areas pre-defined by Fifa.
The other elements of Fifa's major event sponsorship model will, however, remain unchanged, with 14 companies to occupy the Fifa partner and Fifa World Cup sponsor positions.
Although precise figures remain unconfirmed, Fifa expects an uplift of some 30 per cent in revenues derived from its new third-tier category. By widening its net, it also avoids restricting itself to finding national partners in Russia and Qatar, two countries where many major companies are government-owned or controlled.
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