“We are seriously thinking about not renewing our partnership with FIFA beyond 2014,” Boutros Boutros, Emirates’s divisional senior vice president of corporate communications, said in an interview with Australia’s B&T Media yesterday.

FIFA said it’s trying to clarify the comments with Emirates, though it generally has a “very positive relationship with all of our commercial affiliates and media rights licensees.” The organization cited in a statement today “the confidence” shown by other sponsors which have extended contracts until the 2022 World Cup.

FIFA generated about $4 billion from television and marketing contracts for the last World Cup, held in South Africa in 2010. It’s sold out its global sponsorship packages for the next tournament in Brazil in 2014.

“We don’t get into politics but we believe the situation with FIFA went beyond an internal problem and became much bigger,” Boutros said.

The airline today said in a statement that it has “not yet commenced discussions with FIFA on the extension of our partnership agreement beyond 2014. Discussions will begin in due course.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-03/fifa-seeks-clarification-from-emirates-over-sponsorship-comments.html