MasterCard Cries Foul in Soccer Sponsorship Tussle

by Mike Bevel, CollectionIndustry.com

There?s something deliciously ironic in hearing MasterCard?s complaints of breach of contract. One might find oneself harkening back to those telephone calls of yore between the pot and the kettle.

MasterCard thought it was in the clear as the credit card sponsor of choice for the World Cup ? soccer?s answer to the Superbowl, only with less scoring and Janet Jackson. Just when things were about to come down to pen, ink, and contract, Visa swoops in (there?s probably some sort of soccer term that would be more apropos but seriously: it?s soccer; I can only be expected to fake so much interest) and signs the contract instead.

MasterCard is now saying that the move by FIFA was “a blatant and deceitful violation” of a written agreement, which among other things gave MasterCard the right of first refusal if other companies tried to take the sponsorship, MasterCard said in the April filing.

The stakes in this imbroglio are high: rights to sponsor the 2003 Women’s World Cup and the 2006 World Cup were worth a total of about $40 million, according to IEG Inc., a Chicago consulting and research service. The World Cup is the most- viewed sporting event in the world. (Which says more about the world and less about how interesting soccer is.)

A U.S. appeals court will hear part of the argument today.