Saudi Arabia’s Aramco set to complete major FIFA sponsorship deal: Reports

LONDON: Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco is set to complete a sponsorship deal with FIFA, according to a report in The Times newspaper.

Sources close to the negotiations told the paper that the deal, expected to run until 2034, is worth an estimated $100 million a year.

Talks are at an “advanced stage,” the sources added, and come after the Kingdom was confirmed as the sole bidder for the FIFA World Cup in 2034.

If agreed, the sponsorship deal will make Aramco FIFA’s biggest-paying sponsor.

Aramco declined to comment on the report, and FIFA responded by saying it was not part of its policy to “confirm or deny any commercial discussions,” The Times reported.

The oil giant already has major sponsorship deals with Formula 1 and the women’s golf circuit, as well as with the International Cricket Council for the Cricket World Cup and the Indian Premier League.