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.?
