FIFA and the corporate players

Abstract: Private capital has become an increasingly important factor in the globalized football economy. The relationship between a sponsored entity and its sponsor is still relatively unexplored within marketing. The motivation behind writing this paper is to seek further understanding of how sponsors communicate during corruption allegations that hit an international sports body, and in light of that, investigate how brand equity changes when companies are affiliated with long term sponsor contracts. The study has a qualitative approach and relies on pre-existing material. Theories within crisis communication and brand equity will be applied to press releases of three sponsors. In order to find brand equity implications for the sponsors, brand equity theories within marketing are weighed against each other. The study indicates that while there is a direct relationship between the brand image for sponsors and the sponsored entity, brand equity for sponsors has been held intact during the worst crises.