FIFA-nails-it high-end Aramco deal

Article posted by Coliseum, May 1^st, 2024

Image: Aramco and FIFA

The Saudi petroleum giant, Aramco, has announced in a joint statement that it has become a Major Worldwide Partner of FIFA, holding three-year-long sponsorship rights across events like the FIFA World Cup 26™ and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™.

‘msn.com’ stated that while the value of the deal was not publicly disclosed, sources estimates it to be the largest FIFA sponsorship in terms of annual value, adding that the Saudi sponsorship will contribute to FIFA’s 2023-2026 commercial cycle, which was projected to bring in an estimated $11 billion.

The Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Group or simply Aramco, is a State-owned petroleum and natural gas company that is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. As of 2022, it is the second-largest company in the world by revenue and is headquartered in Dhahran.

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The Fédération internationale de football association, abbreviated as FIFA, is an international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer and futsal. It was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain (represented by the Madrid Football Club), Sweden, and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, its membership now comprises 211 national associations.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup™, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26™, will be the 23^rd FIFA World Cup™, the quadrennial international men’s soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member-associations of FIFA. The tournament will take place from June 11^th-July 19^th, 2026. It will be jointly hosted by 16 Cities in three North American countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States. The tournament will be the first hosted by three nations and the first North American World Cup since 1994. Argentina is the defending champion.

The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup™ is scheduled to be the 10th edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, the quadrennial international women’s football championship contested by the national teams of the member-associations of FIFA. The tournament will involve 32 national teams, including that of the host nation, after FIFA announced the expansion of the tournament in July 2019. Spain is the defending champions, having won their first title in 2023.

Averred Amin H. Nasser, Aramco’s President-cum-head honcho, “Through this partnership with FIFA we aim to contribute to football development and harness the power of sport to make an impact around the globe. The deal reflects our ambition to enable the vibrant communities and extends our backing of sport as a platform for growth.”

On FIFA’s side, Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, said, “This partnership will assist FIFA to successfully deliver its flagship tournaments over the next four years and, as is the case with all our commercial agreements, Aramco has a strong track record of supporting the world-class events, but also a focus on developing the grassroots sport initiatives. We look forward to collaborating with them on a variety of initiatives over the coming years.”

‘msn.com’ further stated that Aramco added in its statement that it plans to collaborate with FIFA to “promote innovation” by seeking chances to use the company’s knowhow and technological prowess in the worldwide distribution of the football events, such as programs designed to provide the football enthusiasts fresh and creative ways to interact with the FIFA activities.

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