MasterCard Sues Over World Cup Sponsorship

MasterCard

Sues Over World Cup Sponsorship

MasterCard International has filed a lawsuit against the F?d?ration

Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the governing

body of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, to prevent FIFA

from accepting Visa International as sponsor to the 2010 and

2014 World Cups. According to MasterCard, FIFA entered into

the relationship with Visa despite a contractual agreement that

gives MasterCard the right of first refusal to continue to be

the category-exclusive sponsor for the World Cup.

MasterCard

claims that FIFA had already given MasterCard the necessary

paperwork to go forward with the sponsorship, only to then inform

MasterCard that FIFA had signed a new contract with Visa instead,

leaving MasterCard on the outside looking in.

?This

action by FIFA is a blatant and deceitful violation of our right

of first refusal,? said Noah Hanft, General Counsel, MasterCard

International, ?particularly as we had already signed and accepted

FIFA's offer.?

Published 04/21/06 (Modified 05/07/12)