FIFA trades Mastercard for Visa

Global - Visa International has announced it has inked a global sponsorship deal with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to become a FIFA Partner with global rights to a range of FIFA events.

The sponsorship gives Visa access to the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups and the FIFA Women's World Cups, as well as special events and development programs. Visa's announcement of its sponsorship of FIFA follows the settlement of a legal dispute between Visa's rival Mastercard, who was FIFA's sponsoring partner for 16 years. According to an Associated Press report, Mastercard sued FIFA when the soccer body awarded sponsorship rights to Visa, alleging that FIFA did not honour its agreements with Mastercard regarding first refusal on future sponsorships of the tournament. FIFA now has to pay out US$90 million (S$137.91 million) to Mastercard as part of the settlement deal, with Mastercard discontinuing its sponsorship of the World Cup soccer tournament.

"We look forward to activating our FIFA partnership. With Visa's experience and sponsorship of major properties such as the Olympic Games and Rugby World Cup, we know how valuable a global sporting property can be in driving business," John Elkins, executive vice president at Visa International said. "With this partnership, Visa will work with our network of over 20,000 Visa financial institutions to deliver incremental value to our cardholders and merchants."

Visa's sponsorship extends over an eight-year period; its first FIFA World Cup sponsorship as a FIFA partner will be the 2010 tournament in South Africa.