CONCACAF and CONMEBOL awarded commercial rights for Copa America Centenario 2016 to two familiar firms to U.S. on Wednesday.
Marketing agency IMG and the commercial arm of Major League Soccer, Soccer United Marketing (SUM), won the commercial rights for Copa America Centenario, set to be held in the U.S. next summer.
IMG and SUM were not originally set to handle the sponsorship arrangements and broadcast deals because marketing firm Datisa had the rights, but U.S. Soccer pushed for a new contract to be issued due to the corruption scandal surrounding Datisa.
The two subsequently had to compete against 10 other firms vying for the rights, while CONCACAF and CONMEBOL chose the pair based on proposed financial models, the bidder’s reputation, resources and experience in the field, among other criteria.
The process to chose replacements was closely monitored by an independent third party advisory firm, and CONMEBOL president Juan Angel Napout said he hopes to continue using this method in the future.
“We are very pleased to have participated in this process along with CONCACAF and U.S. Soccer, for the commercial rights of Copa America Centenario 2016,” Napout said in a release. “This is the first time that CONMEBOL has played a part in this type of (Request for Proposal) process — which we will continue to implement in the future, starting in 2016. This commitment is an integral part of the governance reforms taking place at CONMEBOL in order to ensure transparency and benefit all our member associations.”
This development comes after CONCACAF replaced Traffic Sports with SUM as its commercial representative for the CONCACAF Cup.
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