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FIFA is facing a financial backlash as sponsors turn their back on the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The host country has been in the news for all the wrong reasons over the past month.

And recent events in Salisbury - where a former spy and his daughter were poisoned - are promising to hit FIFA’s revenues hard.

Last month it announced a loss of £136.4million in 2017.

And although world football’s governing body still expects this summer’s World Cup to be profitable, there are precious few signs that the sponsors are clamouring to be associated with either FIFA or Russia.

(Image: AFP)

“There is tremendous reticence about sponsoring the World Cup this year,” says Mark Ritson, adjunct professor of marketing at Melbourne Business School.

“That’s a partly a function of FIFAs disastrous corporate reputation, the current quasi-combative status of host country Russia and a general fear that no one quite knows what will happen this summer when the tournament kicks off.

“The Salisbury incident has made a bad situation worse.

(Image: Reuters)

“Late last year it looked bad for Russia 2018 - now it looks terrible.

“FIFA needs around £1.5bn to run the World Cup, but it managed to lose £300m in 2016 and is on schedule to lose £400m this year.

“Mostly because global sponsors simply aren’t interested in a damaged organisation hosting an overpriced event in a secretive, anti-Western quasi dictatorship.”

It comes after ISIS supporters previously spread images of a terrorist brandishing a sub machine gun and a bomb, with the Volgograd Arena in Southern Russia in the background.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

England are set to play one of their World Cup matches at the stadium.

The words 'Wait for Us' are underneath the sinister figure.

The stadium will host Gareth Southgate's side when they face Tunisia on June 18.

Although Volgograd is not an area which the Home Office advises football fans not to visit, it has urged supporters travelling to watch the tournament to see travel advice before travelling.