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11 June 2021CopyrightRory O'Neill

Sports IP round-up: Sponsors swerve Copa América

Mastercard has withdrawn its branding from the controversial Copa América football tournament, set to begin in Brazil on Sunday, June 13.

The decision comes after heavy criticism of regional football authority Conmebol’s decision to host the tournament in Brazil, which remains one of the countries worst-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement sent to WIPR, Mastercard said: “After careful consideration, we have decided not to activate our Copa América sponsorship in Brazil.” While the company technically remains a sponsor of the tournament, its branding will not appear on any marketing materials. AmBev, an AB InBev subsidiary and one of the largest brewers in Brazil, has also withdrawn its branding from the competition following the Mastercard decision.

Brazil’s hosting of the tournament has become a politically contentious issue due to the involvement of President Jair Bolsonaro, heavily criticised for his handling of the pandemic.

There had been speculation last week that the Brazilian team would refuse to defend the title they won in 2019, before the squad released a statement confirming they intended to play under protest.

"For different reasons, be they humanitarian or professional, we are not satisfied with the way the Copa América has been handled by Conmebol," the Brazilian players said in a statement.

Bolsonaro made Brazil available as a host after both Colombia and Argentina had to pull out last month. Colombia is beset with social unrest amid protests against President Iván Duque Márquez, in which up to 20 demonstrators have been killed by police. Argentina, meanwhile, forfeited its duties as a co-host on May 30 due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.

But Brazil, which has seen 475,000 deaths due to COVID-19, is pressing ahead with hosting the tournament, despite concerns over a potential third wave in the country. Brazil’s Supreme Court yesterday rejected challenges brought by opposition parties and trade unions to block the hosting of the tournament. The court said it did not have the jurisdiction to issue such an order, commenting that the decision to host the competition was at the discretion of regional and sporting authorities.

Fernanda Quental, lawyer at BMA in Rio de Janeiro, told WIPR that Mastercard attaching its brand to such a controversial event could have been seen as the company “shooting itself in the foot”.

“Events such as this are normally great opportunities for trademarks to be connected to an amazing atmosphere, even though sponsorship requires investing a massive amount of money. However, this time we are facing a completely different scenario, especially in Brazil,” Quental said.

“Given the health crisis we are facing in Brazil, the public will disapprove of the amount of money invested in a sports and entertainment event,” she added.

Japanese Olympic sponsors fear COVID fallout

Brand owners are facing similar concerns over the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, with sponsors hiring consultants to advise them on the potential damage to their brand, the Financial Times reports.

The games are set to be one of the most controversial in living memory, with polls indicating that the Japanese public feels the Olympics should be cancelled due to COVID-19.

But Olympic officials have remained bullish, insisting that the games will go ahead as planned. Local sponsors have now employed the services of consultants to advise on how to limit any potential damage to their brand from being associated with the event.

Citing a person close to the Japanese Advertisers’ Association, the FT reports that brand owners are struggling to realise the value of their sponsorship investment.

“Companies had hoped to raise their brand value by sponsoring a major global sporting event, but it’s becoming difficult to actively promote the fact that they are sponsoring the Tokyo Olympics,” they told the paper.

BeIN renews UEFA deal

Qatar’s BeIN Sports has renewed its status as UEFA’s exclusive broadcasting partner in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The deal is believed to be worth around €600 million ($731 million), a slight decrease from the previous agreement covering the 2018-2021 rights, The Athletic reports. This is in line with a general decline in the value of football broadcasting rights, which appears to have peaked several years ago.

The deal also means that there are still no legal means of watching UEFA competitions, including the upcoming European Championship, in Saudi Arabia.

BeIN remains banned in the Kingdom after a geopolitical dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Qatari government and BeIN have accused Saudi Arabia of state-sponsored piracy due to its alleged backing of beoutQ, a pirate network which broadcasts games illegally stolen from BeIN’s feeds.

Concerns over piracy heavily contributed to the Premier League’s decision to block a takeover of Newcastle United led by a consortium financed by the Saudi state investment fund.

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