FIFA will make 20 new partnership positions available across five regional blocs as part of a revamp of its tier-three level World Cup sponsorships, according to Sports Marketing Frontiers, goal.com reported.

The news comes after FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke told delegates at last month’s Soccerex Global Convention in Rio de Janeiro that the ‘national supporter’ category would be extended to cover the European continent for the Russia’s staging of the 2018 World Cup. However, Sports Marketing Frontiers reports that the scope is, in fact, far wider than that.

A FIFA spokesperson said: “The new strategy for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups will remain the same in the top two tiers with 14 global sponsors (six FIFA partners and eight FIFA World Cup sponsors), however there is a change in the third tier where we will now provide an opportunity for a maximum of 20 companies across five regions to become regional supporters and therefore gaining the opportunity to activate their rights on a regional basis. The five regions are 1. Europe, 2. North/Central America, 3. South America, 4. Africa/Middle East and 5. Asia and we will offer a maximum of four packages per region.”