By Associated Press - Wednesday, December 20, 2017

ZURICH (AP) - FIFA has turned to China yet again to find a sponsor for the World Cup in Russia.

FIFA says dairy producer Mengniu Group signed for the 2018 tournament, joining Chinese brands Hisense and Vivo in the second-tier sponsor category.

Mengniu becomes “the official drinkable yogurt and pre-packaged ice-cream of the FIFA World Cup and the official milk and powdered milk of the FIFA World Cup for Greater China,” FIFA says.

FIFA still has 21 vacant slots in its 34-sponsor World Cup program less than six months from the opening game in Moscow.

A new third-tier category with 20 continental slots has found just one sponsor, Alfa-Bank of Russia.

All World Cup sponsors to sign in the past five years are from China, Russia and 2022 host Qatar.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.