THE BRAZILIAN NATIONAL football team has signed a seven-and-a-half-year sponsorship agreement with global payment services provider MasterCard.
The deal with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) will see MasterCard become an official partner of all CBF-managed teams, including the men’s national team, the women’s national team and all youth squads (under-20 and under-17).
While the value of the deal remains undisclosed, Frontloaded suggests it will be highly lucrative to the CBF. Brazil is set to become the centre of the sporting world in the coming years with the staging of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and, more poignantly for this deal, the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The rights to high-profile Brazilian sports properties, such as the national football team, are therefore likely to have increased in value in anticipation of these events.
However, MasterCard may have negotiated a slightly discounted fee given the prolonged length of the deal, guaranteeing the CBF sustained commercial income until 2020.
From MasterCard’s perspective the deal makes good business sense when considering competition in the market. The brand’s biggest rival in the payment services provider space is Visa, which has a global partnership with FIFA and official rights to the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, as well as being a worldwide partner to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Engaging activation programmes by MasterCard around the national team in Brazil will ensure Visa will not have it all its own way when the spotlight shifts to South America and to what is one of the biggest emerging economies in the world.
By Luke Harman
Follow Luke on Twitter: @lukeharmanSBG