“6 Villages for 2006″, the official charity campaign of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™, is continuing to go from strength to strength. Box office takings for Sonke Wortmann’s “Germany – a summer fairy tale” documentary have now raised more than three million euros for the joint SOS Children’s Villages International and FIFA campaign. On 6 June, SOS Children’s Villages project leader Wolfgang Kehl accepted a symbolic cheque from FIFA Director of Communications Markus Siegler, Germany captain Michael Ballack and film director Wortmann ahead of the EURO 2008 qualifier between Germany and Slovakia in Hamburg.
Before filming began, FIFA, the German football association, the Western German broadcasting corporation (WDR), Kinowelt entertainment and Little Shark Entertainment – the production company owned by SOS Children’s Villages patron Wortmann – had agreed that the majority of box office revenue would be donated to the campaign. Income from ongoing DVD and soundtrack sales and future box office takings is expected to take the grand total to around four million euros. One euro from the sale of every DVD is transferred directly to the charity campaign.
“The phenomenal success of this initiative is proof that FIFA is, more than ever, taking its social responsibility seriously. We have used our most important competition as a platform to spread positive messages and to collect money for a good cause. With more than 21 million euros in donations, we have significantly surpassed our financial targets, and the support from all sides makes us proud. I would like to thank everyone whose support has helped to give more than 800 abandoned children a new home in these six new SOS children’s villages,” said Siegler. World football’s governing body and SOS Children’s Villages have been working together since 1995.
“We are delighted that such a fascinating film has such a close link to our successful FIFA World Cup initiative, ’6 Villages for 2006′. Once again, this film has shown how a passion for football and the desire to help children in need can create the perfect combination. Our thanks for this cheque go to the German national team, FIFA, Wortmann and everyone else who was involved,” said Kehl.
More than 21 million euros have so far been collected for “6 Villages for 2006″ since the campaign was launched in December 2003. Apart from the 800 permanent places in these new chil¬dren’s villages, a further 5,000 children and 1,000 families in need will benefit from additional social and educational projects. The revenue will go entirely towards building six new SOS children’s villages in Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Ukraine and Vietnam, as well as towards covering their running costs for the first ten years and the implementa¬tion of social programmes. Following on from the opening of the first two villages – in Mexico and South Africa – children in Vietnam were able to enter their new’ home on 14 June. Construction work on the other three villages is still underway, with the village in Recife (Brazil) due to open its doors in November.

On 21 June 2007, FIFA resolved the contract dispute relating to MasterCard’s first right to acquire sponsorship for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup™ events. Both parties also agreed to terminate legal proceedings in the USA and Switzerland, a measure which has yet to be confirmed by the judge responsible.
FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter was pleased with the settlement. “FIFA has, first of all, resolved a problem,” he commented, “and, secondly – much more importantly – has paved the way to a good, new partner that will support it and its manifold activities efficiently all around the world.”
As a result of the settlement, MasterCard will discontinue its sponsorship of the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup™ events. In return, FIFA will pay MasterCard compensation amounting to USD 90 million. In addition to costs, this amount contains the cancellation of the contested right of first refusal of a new sponsorship agreement for eight years with priority for a further extension, as well as the settlement of a protracted marketing dispute between world football’s governing body and MasterCard regarding the two hemispheres logo.

On 28 June 2007, FIFA confirmed that Visa International had become the sixth FIFA Partner with worldwide rights to FIFA’s competitions from 2007 to 2014. This sponsorship in the financial services category represents the payment company’s most significant foray onto the international football stage and, as such, is a ringing endorsement of the sport’s immense appeal to both fans and commercial entities.
Visa joins adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates Airline, Hyundai and Sony in the top tier of the world football governing body’s new sponsorship structure that entitles six corporations to the highest level of commercial affiliation with FIFA over an eight-year period. Visa will enjoy core sponsorship rights to all FIFA competitions, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ and the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, as well as to FIFA’s special events and development initiatives.
“I am pleased to have all six FIFA Partners on board so that we can now focus our attention and energy towards staging world-class football competitions as well as using the power of the sport to tackle some major social issues,” said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter. “Visa has the requisite breadth and social commitment to support us in our endeavours and we look forward to a rewarding partnership.”
John Elkins, executive vice president at Visa International, agreed: “With Visa’s broad experience and successful sponsorship of major properties such as the Olympic Games and Rugby World Cup, we know first-hand how valuable a global sporting property can be in driving business. South Africa is a key location for Visa and there is great potential for us to work together with FIFA to leave behind a positive legacy following the 2010 event.”
The FIFA World Cup™, as the most watched sports event on earth, represents a rare global marketing platform that enables companies to reach consumers by tapping into the huge popularity of football. The 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™, for example, marked a new milestone with the most extensive TV coverage to date – broadcasts in 214 countries and territories generated over 73,000 hours of programming (up 76% on 2002).