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Valcke: It will ´take years´ to rebuild FIFA´s reputation

SoccerNews in General Soccer News 26 Nov 2014

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FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke admitted it may “take years” for the body to rebuild its reputation amid ongoing claims of corruption.

Global airline Emirates will end its sponsorship of the World Cup, while there are reports electronics giant Sony are set to follow suit in the aftermath of a FIFA report that controversially cleared Qatar of any wrongdoing in their bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 showpiece events.

Qatar’s successful 2022 World Cup bid and Russia, who won the rights to host the 2018 tournament, were heavily scrutinised following numerous claims of corruption.

But Qatar and Russia were not sanctioned after the report, published by Hans-Joachim Eckert, cleared the two countries despite heavy criticism from lead investigator Michael Garcia.

There have also been continuous calls for FIFA to make the report public since the findings were published.

While Valcke insisted the fallout from the corruption claims will not cost them sponsors, he did concede FIFA’s image cannot afford to get any worse.

“The value of the FIFA World Cup, the value of football, the value of what we are doing is still the same,” said the Frenchman.

“The value of the work of the administration of FIFA is still the same. We are doing a great job.

“The image of FIFA is something, which I agree over the last two weeks, I will not say has reached the bottom, but has reached a level where we should not go lower than that and we have to work on it.

“We explain things are happening, things have happened but we are still doing a lot of good things and we have to rebuild this image, day after day.

“It’s easy to destroy the reputation, it takes one second. It takes years to rebuild our reputation, but that’s what we will do.”

On Sony and Emirates, Valcke added: “It [Sony] has nothing to do with FIFA’s reputation, nothing to do what has happened over the past weeks. Nothing at all.

“It’s exactly the same for Emirates. It was a decision they have made in 2012 already, that they don’t want to be associated with global events around a period of 30 days. They want to be more on a day-to-day sponsorship system or strategy.

“I am coming from this world – that’s my background. I know, very well, all these companies. I know that Coca Cola, I know that Visa have made some comment or statement about the situation. They are – let’s summarise – unhappy about what’s happening. But both Sony and Emirates have nothing to do with the situation we are facing these last days.”

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