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 Coca-Cola Co <KO.N> , McDonald's <MCD.N>, Visa <V.N>, and
Budweiser owner Anheuser-Busch InBev <ABI.BR>, companies that have
long linked their brand names to soccer, on Friday demanded Blatter
step down immediately in a strong push for change at the
organization. Blatter earlier announced he would resign in February
next year.
The sponsor statements, all using similar language, came just a week
after Swiss authorities said they were opening a criminal
investigation into Blatter, the 79-year-old Swiss national who has
lead FIFA for the past 17 years.
AB InBev said it has been "actively engaged" in the FIFA reform
process as part of a group of sponsors.
"Every day that passes, the image and reputation of FIFA continues
to tarnish," Coca Cola said. "FIFA needs comprehensive and urgent
reform, and that can only be accomplished through a truly
independent approach."
 Visa and McDonald's joined the call for Blatter to step aside.
"The events of recent weeks have continued to diminish the
reputation of FIFA and public confidence in its leadership,"
McDonald's said in an emailed statement.
Blatter responded by saying he would not resign, setting the stage
for a battle over who should take the helm in the next few months
before February when elections are set for a new FIFA president.
In a statement from his U.S. lawyer Richard Cullen, Blatter said he
believed leaving office would not be in FIFA's best interest or
advance the needed reforms of the organization.
Scandals surrounding global soccer exploded in May, when 14 soccer
officials and sports marketing executives were indicted on U.S.
charges of racketeering, money laundering and wire fraud in relation
to bribery schemes that dated back decades.
Last Friday, the Swiss Office of the Attorney General said it opened
a criminal investigation into Blatter on suspicion of criminal
mismanagement and misappropriation of funds.
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It was the first time that authorities investigating corruption in
the world's most popular sport had pointed the finger directly at
Blatter.
He has denied wrongdoing and his U.S. attorney said he was
cooperating with the Swiss probe.
FIFA's awarding of the 2018 and 2022 competitions to Russia and
Qatar is one of the strands under scrutiny from U.S. and Swiss
authorities investigating corruption in the organization, a worry
for tournament sponsors including McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Visa.
"One of the things consumers are looking for in brands today is for
them to be responsible," said Trevor Wade from the brand consultancy
firm Landor. She said the moves by the sponsors was a way to take a
public stand about something they think matters to customers.
It is an unprecedented decision by companies that have largely stood
back as developments in the case unfolded in recent months, said
Jaimie Fuller a co-founder of campaign group #NewFifaNow.
"The drastic nature of this call stresses the extreme problems faced
by FIFA," Fuller said, "and should show everybody how the sports
governing body is teetering on the abyss."
(Reporting by Simon Evans in Zurich and Mica Rosenberg in New York;
Additional reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar and Nandita Bose;
Editing by Grant McCool)
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