Yahoo! and FIFA in marketing deal to co-brand World Cup websites

Yahoo! has signed a joint marketing deal with world football body FIFA to host a co-branded website for the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups and is searching for website sponsors.

Under the agreement Yahoo! has paid an undisclosed fee to produce and market the website – fifaworldcup.com – and is aiming to sign up about ten sponsors for the launch on December 1.

It is also planning to offer special deals to companies interested in sponsoring both the FIFA website and the Yahoo! network. Financial details of the sponsorship have not been disclosed.

Vice-president of the partnership Randy Bernstein says the site will be marketed through Yahoo!’s existing advertising arrangements and through cross promotion with other World Cup sponsors.

The website will be available in six languages and will include live broadcasts of match-related events, archive footage, a news room and a football shop. But it will not be allowed to show live footage of games.

Yahoo! wants to better the last World Cup website for France 1998, which received 1.1 billion page views over 33 days.

The 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup kicks off on May 31, with the final taking place on June 30.

The 2006 World Cup will be in Germany.