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MasterCard Files Suit Against FIFA

Purchase, New York (ots/PRNewswire)

- Claims Violation of Rights to Sponsor Future FIFA World Cup
Events
MasterCard International today filed a complaint in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking an
injunction against the Federation Internationale de Football
Association (FIFA), the governing body of the FIFA World Cup to
prevent FIFA from moving forward with an agreement with Visa
International to sponsor the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
It was recently revealed that FIFA had entered into that
relationship despite having a contractual agreement giving MasterCard
the right of first refusal to continue to be the category-exclusive
sponsor of those events.
MasterCard's complaint states that after a period of negotiation
in which FIFA assured MasterCard that it was not going to enter into
an agreement with a third party, it proceeded in doing so. FIFA did
this despite the fact that it had already provided MasterCard with a
written contract -- including all terms -- which MasterCard signed
and returned to FIFA, which then advised MasterCard that a deal with
Visa was completed.
"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."
As part of MasterCard's 2002-2006 agreement with FIFA, which was
signed in 2002, MasterCard was granted the right of first refusal to
be the official and exclusive payment solutions sponsor of future
FIFA World Cup events. Therefore, FIFA was precluded from entering
into such an agreement with Visa.
"Among the key terms we bargained for in the 2002-2006 FIFA World
Cup sponsorship negotiation was the right to obtain future FIFA World
Cup sponsorship opportunities and a critical aspect of any
sponsorship -- particularly one as significant as FIFA World Cup --
is continuity and the building of equity over time," continued Hanft.
"MasterCard will vigorously pursue legal action to compel FIFA to
honor the 96-page written and binding agreement it has with
MasterCard, providing for us to be an official sponsor of the next
two FIFA World Cups," he said.
"MasterCard continues to move forward with the important customer
and consumer programming related to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in
Germany, which begins in June," said Lawrence Flanagan, Chief
Marketing Officer, MasterCard International. "A significant number of
our customer financial institutions, more than 300 of them, are
activating business-building programs worldwide."
MasterCard's complaint can be found in the newsroom section at
www.mastercardinternational.com.
About MasterCard International
MasterCard International is a leading global payments solutions
company that provides a broad variety of innovative services in
support of our global members' credit, deposit access, electronic
cash, business-to-business and related payment programs. MasterCard
manages a family of well-known, widely accepted payment card brands
including MasterCard(R), Maestro(R) and Cirrus(R) and serves
financial institutions, consumers and businesses in over 210
countries and territories. The MasterCard award-winning Priceless(R)
advertising campaign is now seen in 105 countries and in 48
languages, giving the MasterCard brand a truly global reach and
scope. For more information go to www.mastercardinternational.com.
Contact: Jon Schwartz, MasterCard International, +1-914-249-6806,
              jon_schwartz@mastercard.com
Web site: http://www.mastercardinternational.com

Contact:

Jon Schwartz, MasterCard International, +1-914-249-6806, or
jon_schwartz@mastercard.com