FIFA chooses Crypto.com as its official sponsor for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar

FIFA, the governing body behind major international soccer tournaments, has selected crypto exchange Crypto.com as its brand new official partner for its upcoming World Cup in Qatar.

As per the official announcement by FIFA, the association has decided that Crypto.com’s branding will be displayed both inside and outside of stadiums in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which is scheduled to be conducting the opening ceremony in November 2022. The exchange will offer opportunities to its customers to attend matches and to win official merchandise as part of the sponsorship package.

Crypto.com and its partnerships

Kay Madati, the Chief Commercial Officer of the association commented on the deal by citing Crypto.com’s other partnerships and their positive impacts. He said that the two entities are coming forward to grow the games on a “global scale.”

Crypto.com is famous for its partnerships. It recently partnered with LeBron James to spread crypto awareness and education. Its app was trending last year in the Top Spot on Google Play Store.

The exchange announced in November that the Staples Center in Los Angeles would be renamed the Crypto.com Arena for the next 20 years. Crypto.com has also signed a $25 million sponsorship contract with the Australian Football League, a $100 million sponsorship deal with Formula 1, and a 10-year $175 million sponsorship deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Qatar’s banning would not interrupt

Though trading crypto such as Bitcoin (BTC) has been essentially illegal in Qatar since the nation’s central bank banned them in 2018 — and the Qatar Financial Center Regulatory Authority reaffirmed the ban in January 2020 — Crypto.com is likely to appeal to a more worldwide crowd given soccer’s global popularity.

With less than eight months until the World Cup begins, suspicions of corruption and bribery dating all the way back to the tender process for Qatar 2022 have cast a shadow over the event. The US Department of Justice indicted three people in April 2020 in connection with “the payment and receipt of bribes and kickbacks” in FIFA’s selection of countries to host the World Cup, including Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.