The commercial power of the World Cup

From a branding perspective, there are few more visible outlets than the stage created by the Fifa World Cup. Success on the pitch can relate to significant gains in brand value for players, the nations and clubs they represent, and for the sponsors shilling out huge sums of money to have their names advertised across the globe. For instance, It's safe to say few in the West had heard of Etihad or Emirates before they became ensconced in football branding. In this episode of the Business Extra podcast, Chris Nelson is joined by Andrew Campbell, managing director of Brand Finance Middle East, to assess just how Fifa has, despite years of controversy and poor management, used the power of the world's most popular game to become a commercial behemoth. Can Fifa become too big, or does the star power of players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi — among the world's most famous celebrities — portend even further growth? And how will growing sectors such as e-sports affect the popularity of football among the youth?