FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke listens to Brazil's deputy sports minister Luis Fernandes during a news conference after they inspected the Arena da Baixada soccer stadium in Curitiba January 21, 2014.STRINGER/Reuters
FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke acknowledged Tuesday that it will take "years to rebuild our reputation" following the World Cup bidding corruption investigation.
But Valcke insisted that Sony and Emirates airline are not ending their FIFA sponsorships to protest against allegations of bribery and favour-seeking that have engulfed world football.
Emirates has announced it is not renewing its sponsorship, and Valcke said he "would be surprised" if Sony extended its deal, – for $279-million (U.S.) over eight years – which expires at the end of this year.
But, speaking in Belfast after a meeting of the International Football Association Board, Valcke acknowledged the immediate future is not bright for FIFA's global standing while insisting "we are doing a great job."
"The image of FIFA is something I agree, over the last two weeks I would not say reached the bottom, but has reached a level which is definitely a level which we will not go lower than," Valcke said. "Things are happening, things have happened, but we are still doing a lot of good things. We have to rebuild this image day after day. It's easy to destroy the reputation. It takes one second. It takes years to rebuild our reputation, but that's what we will do."