By Mae Anderson, Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --For FIFA's top sponsors, the resignation of Sepp Blatter is just the first step in restoring the reputation of soccer's governing body and regaining the fans' trust following a corruption scandal.
Blatter resigned as FIFA president Tuesday, amid pressure from colleagues, sponsors, athletes and fans. The resignation came just days after he was re-elected to a fifth term.
The soccer world was shaken last week after the U.S. issued indictments against 14 current or former soccer officials last week alleging corruption and fraud and the Swiss announced a criminal investigation into the votes awarding the World Cup tournaments to Russia in 2018 and to Qatar in 2022. Sponsors, including Coca-Cola and Visa, said they were examining their relationship with FIFA.
Those sponsors, who pour millions into supporting the World Cup and other FIFA tournaments, expressed relief Tuesday that the organization was taking positive action. Adidas, which has provided the official match ball for every World Cup since 1970, said in a statement that "today's news marks a step in the right direction on FIFA's path to establish and follow transparent compliance standards in everything they do."
Other sponsors echoed the sentiment.
"The allegations of corruption and questionable ethics within FIFA have overshadowed the game and taken away from the sport, players and fans," McDonald's said. "We're hopeful that the changes being implemented within FIFA will be a big first step in positively reforming the organization."
Coca-Cola said Blatter's announcement is a "positive step for the good of sport, football and its fans."
Electronic Arts, which makes FIFA video games, said it is "supportive of FIFA's examination of its organization and the important steps being taken toward reform."
Blatter, who is not implicated in any of the charges, said he would step down in an acknowledgement that major change was needed at the top of FIFA.
FIFA couldn't ignore the criticism, as the sponsors provide almost a third of its revenues. Recent figures showed the organization generated $5.7 billion in 2011-2014, which encompassed the Brazil World Cup, with sponsors and commercial partners contributing almost $1.6 billion.
Visa reiterated Tuesday that it expects FIFA to take steps to "rebuild a culture with strong ethical practices." The company had threatened to jump ship last week.
The negative sentiments likely played some part in Blatter's decision, said Manish Tripathi, assistant marketing professor at Emory University.
The sponsors "make up such a large part of FIFA's revenues, and I am sure the last thing they wanted was the negative publicity of a drawn-out public fight between Sepp and the authorities," he said.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More