WORLD CUP sponsors once again threatened to sever ties with Fifa yesterday after the arrests of nine football officials.

Charges of bribery, fraud and money-laundering were aimed at the Fifa members arrested early Wednesday morning in Zurich, ahead of today’s congress.

Visa, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and a host of important World Cup sponsors all stressed concern and disappointment at the situation, with the FBI launching a full investigation into business deals and the activities of football’s governing body.

A statement from VISA said: “Our disappointment and concern with Fifa in light of (Wednesday’s) developments is profound.

“As a sponsor, we expect Fifa to take swift and immediate steps to address these issues within its organisation. This starts with rebuilding a culture with strong ethical practices in order to restore the reputation of the games for fans everywhere.

“VISA became a sponsor of Fifa because the World Cup is one of the few truly global sporting events with the power to unite people from around the world through a common love of football.

“Our sponsorship has always focused on supporting the teams, enabling a great fan experience, and inspiring communities to come together and celebrate the spirit of competition and personal achievement — and it is important that Fifa makes changes now, so that the focus remain on these going forward. Should Fifa fail to do so, we have informed them that we will reassess our sponsorship.”

Labour frontbencher Chris Bryant said the world’s major football associations should look into creating “alternative” World Cups.

“Now that Visa, McDonald’s, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Hyundai and Uefa have all finally raised major concerns about the 2018 and 2022 competitions, should the bidding rounds not be reopened?” he asked.

“And if not, is it not time for the major football associations of the world to consider creating alternative competitions for those dates?”