China's Hisense Electric becomes FIFA sponsor
(Reuters) - Consumer electronics maker Hisense Electric Co Ltd said it had become an official sponsor of FIFA, making it the latest Chinese company to partner with the global soccer governing body. Hisense will engage in global marketing and advertising activities for FIFA's 2017 Confederations Cup and 2018 World Cup, the company said in a statement. FIFA has been battered by a series of corruption scandals and has struggled to find new sponsors to replace top-tier partners Sony Corp and Emirates Airline after their deals expired at the end of 2014. The soccer body signed a partnership in March last year with real estate and media conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, the first Chinese company to sign up as a FIFA partner. The company received the highest sponsorship rights, including rights to all FIFA competitions and corporate activities up to and including the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd was in discussions to become a top sponsor of FIFA, Bloomberg reported in May last year. (Reporting by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)
