Successful World Cup Bid Boosts 1990 Business

The selling of the 1990 World Cup is paying big dividends, with some of the world’s richest corporations signing on as sponsors in hopes of reaching a television audience in the tens of billions.

Italian organizers of the quadrennial soccer tournament say the decision to stage the 1994 World Cup in the United States has given them added incentive to put on a financially successful show.

“The eyes of that immense country will be on Italy and how we handle the event,” said Antonio Matarrese, president of the Italian Soccer Federation.

Sponsors, television, tourism, licenses and public works improvements are counted on to play as much a part in the success of the month-long tournament as the on-field magic of superstars like Diego Maradona of Argentina and Ruud Gullit of the Netherlands.

“The World Cup is an event like no other, unparalleled in terms of audience,” said Luca di Montezemolo, director of the Italia ’90 organizing committee.

“We are trying to combine Italian creativity with technology, efficiency and competitiveness,” Montezemolo said at a recent round-table forum in Rome on the business aspects of the World Cup. “We want to organize the best event possible, but also to allow the many big companies to achieve the proper return on their investment.”

“In our relations with the sponsors,” he added, “we have created a new method of working that can become an example for all. The companies have a role not simply as sponsors but are also directly involved in the organization of the Cup.”

Among the international sponsors already attracted are Anheuser-Busch, Canon, Coca-Cola, Fuji Film, Gillette, JVC and Philips. Each has invested about $10 million, Montezemolo said.

Italian sponsors include Alitalia, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, Fiat, Olivetti and the state-run RAI television network, which will be broadcasting 700 hours of soccer a week around the world.

In addition, there are more than two dozen official licensees who are entitled to use the World Cup symbol on their products, ranging from T-shirts to toothpaste. So far, 27 licenses have been granted for $8.8 million in royalties.

“We are confident that any previous record for licenses will be shattered,” said Oscar Massari, administrator of the committee’s licensing agency, Telemundi Italia.

The exposure for the sponsors can best be judged by the potential television audience for the 52 games.

Klaus Hempel, president of ISL, the official marketing arm of the international soccer federation, predicted that the tournament will attact a cumulatative TV audience of 26 billion viewers in 170 countries.

That would far surpass the 13.5 billion TV viewers during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and the projected 6.5 billion for the upcoming Olympic Games in Seoul.

“It is easy to see why Italy ’90 will be the biggest media event in history,” Hempel said.

According to RAI, 107 nations have already signed contracts for television coverage, while separate deals are still being worked out with the United States and Canada.

RAI thinks it can teach a thing or two about soccer coverage to the American networks, who have relatively little experience with the world’s most popular sport.

“The network could also have a role in the American tournament in 1994,” said Vittorio Panchetti, deputy director of RAI’s sports division. “We know perfectly the techniques for broadcasting a soccer game. These techniques are not known in the U.S. The organizers of the U.S. tournament could easily take advantage of our knowledge and lean partly on us.”

Hempel said his agency is also looking ahead to 1994, with plans to work with the U.S. soccer federation to develop programs to educate the American public about the sport.

“We will look into using TV, showing the soccer skills of Maradona, Gullitt and others,” Hempel said. “When Americans see these stars in close-up action, we are sure this will create greater interest.”

While television will satisfy most of the world’s soccer fans, millions are also expected to travel to Italy to watch the matches in person.

Tourism Minister Franco Carraro said the government projects the arrival of about 25 million foreign tourists during the period of the World Cup, an increase of 45 percent over the usual number of tourists during the June-July season.

The influx will test Italy’s already-taxed public services and its deteriorating soccer stadiums. After months of delays, the government plans to allocate $2.7 billion for building, expanding and improving stadiums, roads, highways, airports and railway stations in the 12 cities hosting the cup.

“It’s not a matter of safeguarding just the image of our country and its most important cities, but also, unfortunately, of salvaging wanting infrastructures and insufficient services,” said Carlo Tognoli, minister of Urban Areas.

Promoting the country’s image is also a concern of the Italian sponsors.

“The image of our country varies between genius and chaos,” said Giovanni Maggio, head of advertising and public relations for Olivetti in Italy. “We intend to wipe out the chaos.”