Scandal-hit FIFA announces $369M in losses

Multiple investigations into corruption and sweeping leadership changes over the past two years have cost FIFA a pretty penny.

World football's governing body announced Friday it posted losses totalling $369 million for 2016, as the transgressions of its previous regime took their toll.

It is more than triple the losses FIFA recorded a year ago.

FIFA attributed the negative numbers to legal fees related to separate U.S. and Swiss investigations, loss of sponsorships, accounting changes, one-off "extraordinary" expenses, and "ill-considered" investments dating back to Sepp Blatter's time in charge, including the FIFA World Football Museum and Hotel Ascot.

The recovering body also forecasted $489 million in losses next year.

Of the mammoth expenses, $62 million covered legal fees stemming from a string of arrests in a Zurich hotel in May 2015. The pre-dawn raid led to separate Swiss- and FBI-led investigations that uncovered rampant corruption and eventually forced Blatter's ouster.

Despite the doom and gloom of FIFA's latest figures, president Gianni Infantino said 2016 was a "turning point" for the scandal-hit organisation.

Accounting for a dramatic influx of income from the World Cup in Russia, FIFA said it expects a "significant surplus" in 2018. It forecasts $5.656 billion in revenue and $100 million in profit over the 2015-18 period.

There is a greater focus on transparency - one of the key themes to emerge from the ongoing probes - with $4.533 billion in expenses said to be dedicated to football development, governance, and competitions and events.

But endorsements continue to elude FIFA. Twenty-four sponsorship slots remain available with fewer than 14 months remaining before the 2018 World Cup. Emirates, Sony, Castrol, Continental, and Johnson & Johnson all cut ties with the governing body in 2015 after FIFA became embroiled in a PR nightmare.