FIFA's corporate sponsors have not pulled away from the under-fire organization after news of U.S. and Swiss authorities' corruption case against soccer's governing body on Wednesday.
While some companies have issued strong statements in light of the investigation, none have declared intentions to sever their deals with the organization as a result of the fallout.
Adidas, which has been a sponsor of FIFA for the past 45 years and whose deal runs for another 15, was the first top sponsor to issue a statement on Wednesday morning.
"The Adidas Group is fully committed to creating a culture that promotes the highest standards of ethics and compliance, and we expect the same from our partners," the company said in its statement. "Following today's news, we can therefore only encourage FIFA to continue to establish and follow transparent compliance standards in everything they do."
McDonald's, which has been a sponsor of the FIFA World Cup since 1994, also said it would be watching FIFA's actions "very closely" going forward.
"McDonald's takes matters of ethics and corruption very seriously and the news from the U.S. Department of Justice is extremely concerning," the company stated. "We are in contact with FIFA on this matter. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely."
Former International Olympic Committee executive Michael Payne said sponsors can start to distance themselves with FIFA, but can still keep their deal.
"While sponsors have loosely addressed reports of FIFA corruption, this is the first time this is a criminal issue, which takes things to a new level," said Payne.
"What they should do is say, 'We are a sponsor of the World Cup and the sport of soccer, we are not a sponsor of FIFA itself.'"
According to Payne, an IOC poll commissioned after the 2002 Salt Lake City bribery scandal indicated that the Olympic brand was stronger than ever before, with the IOC -- not the event -- taking the brunt of the hit.
The U.S Department of Justice's indictment Wednesday alleged that a major U.S sportswear company was involved in bribes and kickbacks connected to its sponsorship of the Brazilian national team.
The attorney general declined to say if that company was indeed Nike, which began sponsoring the team in 1994. For it's part, Nike admitted in a statement on Wednesday that it was working with authorities.
"Like fans everywhere we care passionately about the game and are concerned by the very serious allegations. Nike believes in ethical and fair play in both business and sport and strongly opposes any form of manipulation or bribery. We have been cooperating, and will continue to cooperate, with the authorities."
Amidst controversy last year, five sponsors left FIFA when their contracts expired. Top-tier sponsors Emirates Airlines and Sony departed, as did secondary sponsors Castrol, Continental Tire and Johnson & Johnson.
Long-time FIFA partner Coca-Cola expressed their concern for the "serious allegations" later in the afternoon.
"This lengthy controversy has tarnished the mission and ideals of the FIFA World Cup and we have repeatedly expressed our concerns about these serious allegations," Coca-Cola stated. "We expect FIFA to continue to address these issues thoroughly. FIFA has stated that it is responding to all requests for information and we are confident it will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities."
Budweiser promised to continue monitoring the situation.
"We expect all of our partners to maintain strong ethical standards and operate with transparency. We continue to closely monitor the situation through our ongoing communications with FIFA."
Visa released a statement late on Wednesday saying: "Our disappointment and concern with FIFA in light of today's developments is profound. As a sponsor, we expect FIFA to take swift and immediate steps to address these issues within its organisation. This starts with rebuilding a culture with strong ethical practices in order to restore the reputation of the games for fans everywhere."
"Visa became a sponsor of FIFA because the World Cup is one of the few truly global sporting events with the power to unite people from around the world through a common love of football. Our sponsorship has always focused on supporting the teams, enabling a great fan experience, and inspiring communities to come together and celebrate the spirit of competition and personal achievement -- and it is important that FIFA makes changes now, so that the focus remains on these going forward. Should FIFA fail to do so, we have informed them that we will reassess our sponsorship."
Gazprom and Hyundai/Kia did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The current partners were still featured on FIFA letterhead on Wednesday as they responded to controversy.