Fifa forced to backtrack over controversial World Cup ticketing

by Drew Barrand, Marketing 04-May-05, 08:30

LONDON - Football's global governing body Fifa has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown over World Cup ticket sales that risks upsetting MasterCard, one of its primary tournament sponsors.

Fifa had planned to use a controversial sales system, whereby fans could only buy tickets for the 2006 World Cup using MasterCard, in euros through a German bank account or through an international bank transfer.

Following a probe by the European Commission into MasterCard's dominance of the process, Fifa has decided that supporters will be allowed to buy tickets via a domestic bank transfer in their local currency.

The probe followed complaints from UK consumer group Which? and the German Federal Anti-Trust Office.

MasterCard is thought to have demanded ticket payment exclusivity as one of the benefits of its £15m sponsorship deal. Sports industry insiders believe that it may demand compensation from Fifa, as part of its contract has not been fulfilled. The credit card company declined to comment.

The decision may also affect Fifa's ability to retain MasterCard as a World Cup sponsor. The deal between the two expires after the 2006 tournament in Germany.

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