FIFA partners express concern, US credit card company Visa threatens to withdraw its sponsorship

"Our disappointment and concern with FIFA in light of today’s developments is profound. As a sponsor, we expect FIFA to take swift and immediate steps to address these issues within its organisation. This starts with rebuilding a culture with strong ethical practices in order to restore the reputation of the games for fans everywhere," stated Visa, the American credit card and e-payment solutions company, an official partner of FIFA, on 27/05/2015.

"It is important that FIFA makes changes now, so that the focus remain on these going forward. Should FIFA fail to do so, we have informed them that we will reassess our sponsorship," insisted Visa. The company extended its partnership with FIFA until 2022 on 14/01/2014. The two sides have been linked since 2007. Each official partner of FIFA paid on average €21.8m for the year in 2014.

The sponsorship revenue of FIFA could exceed €300m for 2014, representing 23% of the institution's income, which is expected to reach €1.28bn in total for the year.