The soccer world was dealt a major blow Wednesday as nine FIFA officials were arrested on corruption charges. With the women’s World Cup looming and the men’s World Cup coming in 2018, the World Cup sponsor, Adidas, weighed in on the arrests.
The Germany-based brand said it will continue to support soccer and soccer players but expects transparency and honesty from those it works with.
“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,” the brand said in a statement. “Adidas is the world’s leading football brand, and we will continue to support football on all levels.”
FIFA was under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, a probe that led to indictments of nine officials and five corporate executives for racketeering conspiracy and corruption. The organization is also under investigation by the Swiss Attorney General for how voting took place in awarding the location of both the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 World Cup, taking place in Russia and Qatar, respectively.
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According to the U.S. DOJ, the nine FIFA officials who face the charges include Jeffrey Webb, Eugenio Figueredo, Jack Warner, Costas Takkas, Eduardo Li, Rafael Esquivel, Julio Rocha, José Maria Marin and Nicolás Leoz.
