Alfa Bank first regional WC18 sponsor

FIFA, which has struggled to find commercial partners since it was battered by a corruption scandal last year, named a Russian bank as its first regional World Cup sponsor on Monday.

The global soccer body said Alfa Bank would "activate sponsorship initiatives" around the 2018 World Cup, which is being hosted by Russia.

FIFA said that, under a new commercial strategy for the World Cup, up to four packages were being offered for regional sponsors in each of five regions it listed as Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa, and Asia.

It said there was a growing interest in the approach.

FIFA was thrown into turmoil last year after criminal investigations were launched into the sport in the United States, where several dozen former soccer officials have been indicted, and Switzerland.

It was also forced to reform its bidding process after a December 2010 vote awarded the 2018 and 2022 tournaments to Russia and Qatar respectively.

Gianni Infantino was elected to the FIFA presidency in February after promising greater funding for FIFA's 211 member associations during his campaign.

He said increasing sponsorship revenue would be a priority for his presidency.

FIFA sources have said the federation faces a shortfall of about $500 million in its predictions if it fails to reach sponsorship revenue targets.