In response to the FIFA bribery scandal, Adidas urged FIFA “to continue to establish and follow transparent compliance standards in everything they do,” although the company wasn't critical of soccer's governing body.
The scandal resulted in the arrests of several high-ranking officials.
Adidas' statement read: “The Adidas Group is fully committed to creating a culture that promotes the highest standards of ethics and compliance, and we expect the same from our partners. Following today’s news, we can therefore only encourage FIFA to continue to establish and follow transparent compliance standards in everything they do. Adidas is the world’s leading football brand and we will continue to support football on all levels.”
Adidas, associated with FIFA since the 1950s, already expressed concern along with Sony, Visa and Coca-Cola last June after allegations of corruption connected to the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. The group said the negative public debate was not good for football, nor for FIFA and its partners.
FIFA's public accounts shows it received a total of $177 million in 2014 from its long-term partners – Adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates airline, Hyundai, Sony and Visa – and $131 million from sponsors of the World Cup.
