Gazprom signs a deal to sponsor FIFA until 2018 World Cup

SOCHI — Gazprom agreed upon a deal on Saturday the 14th of September to sponsor FIFA for a four-year period, which includes the time when Russia hosts the World Cup in 2018.

With President Vladimir Putin attending the signing ceremony in the 2018 World Cup host city and 2014 Winter Olympic games destination Sochi, FIFA chief Sepp Blatter and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller put pen to paper on the agreement, which is effective from the beginning of 2015 until the end of 2018. This contract between the Worlds’s football governing body and Gazprom the world’s largest extractor of natural gas makes it the first Russian sponsor for the period covering when Russia hosts the world cup.

Miller refused to indicate the amount that Gazprom was spending to sponsor FIFA, stating merely that the total amount of money spent by Gasprom reflected the importance of an event such as the World Cup. The sponsorship arrangement will allow Gazprom to use the FIFA and World Cup logos in its advertising and marketing activities and also makes it the exclusive sponsor from the oil, gas and fuels industries.