FIFA could seal a major partnership deal with Qatar Airways within weeks, a source said yesterday, the same day football’s world body announced a $369mn loss. “We hope to confirm it in the next few months, perhaps before the congress in Bahrain (May 10-11),” the source close to FIFA said in Zurich. The contract between FIFA and Qatar Airways was negotiated and concluded in the era of former FIFA president Sepp Blatter after the 2022 World Cup was awarded to Qatar, said a source. However, it has not been formalised yet. In announcing the hefty financial loss for 2016 yesterday, FIFA acknowledged it had spent a huge chunk of its reserves in the past year.