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MasterCard still sore over losing FIFA rights
FIFA & UEFA - 05 June, 2006
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MasterCard has been a FIFA global partner for the past 16 years and expected to remain there, but, in April, Visa unseated MasterCard, with global rights to a variety of FIFA tournaments from 2007 to 2014.
MasterCard immediately filed a lawsuit in US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The 22-page complaint accuses FIFA of “a blatant and deceitful violation of a right of first refusal granted to MasterCard”, noting that the company has, through the years, “paid tens of millions of dollars to be, and to have the option to continue being in the future, the official sponsor of World Cup soccer.”
The complaint argues that MasterCard had signed an extension, and that if FIFA and Visa have their agreement left intact, MasterCard will “be deprived of a unique asset (World Cup sponsorship) and will suffer irreparable harm for which monetary damages, even of hundreds of millions of dollars, will not adequately compensate it.”
MasterCard hopes to win the suit and force FIFA into honouring a contract for rights to the next two World Cup tournaments. Analysts assume the 2006 deal has been very lucrative for MasterCard but the company declined to release any figures due to the ongoing litigation.
Visa, for its part, is taking the high road.
“Suffice to say we're not going to get into any details about this until after this World Cup,” Visa spokesman Mike Sherman said. “We don't want to get in MasterCard's way.”
At stake is a marketing opportunity to reach fans of the world’s most popular sport. Beyond logos, MasterCard was in position to be the only credit card accepted for advanced purchases this year.
The company had locked up millions of dollars in fees paid from processing an estimated 3 million tickets, ranging from EUR 21 to EUR 600.
MasterCard immediately filed a lawsuit in US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The 22-page complaint accuses FIFA of “a blatant and deceitful violation of a right of first refusal granted to MasterCard”, noting that the company has, through the years, “paid tens of millions of dollars to be, and to have the option to continue being in the future, the official sponsor of World Cup soccer.”
The complaint argues that MasterCard had signed an extension, and that if FIFA and Visa have their agreement left intact, MasterCard will “be deprived of a unique asset (World Cup sponsorship) and will suffer irreparable harm for which monetary damages, even of hundreds of millions of dollars, will not adequately compensate it.”
MasterCard hopes to win the suit and force FIFA into honouring a contract for rights to the next two World Cup tournaments. Analysts assume the 2006 deal has been very lucrative for MasterCard but the company declined to release any figures due to the ongoing litigation.
Visa, for its part, is taking the high road.
“Suffice to say we're not going to get into any details about this until after this World Cup,” Visa spokesman Mike Sherman said. “We don't want to get in MasterCard's way.”
At stake is a marketing opportunity to reach fans of the world’s most popular sport. Beyond logos, MasterCard was in position to be the only credit card accepted for advanced purchases this year.
The company had locked up millions of dollars in fees paid from processing an estimated 3 million tickets, ranging from EUR 21 to EUR 600.
Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 -
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