CONMEBOL "has taken over the management of sponsorship and rebroadcast rights for the 2016 Centenary Copa America," according to Andrew Downie of REUTERS. The move "sidelines Argentine company Datisa and removes another obstacle to hosting the tournament" in the U.S. A CONMEBOL statement said, "Conmebol and Datisa have agreed to rescind all the commercial rights that Datisa had for the sale of sponsorship and rebroadcasts associated with the Centenary Copa America. Conmebol will take control of those commercial rights while they together with the CONCACAF and the United States Soccer Federation will identify new partners to sell the tournament's commercial rights through a new and transparent process." Three of the main shareholders in Datisa "were among those indicted by the U.S. in May." The U.S. indictment said that "the three men conspired to win and keep hold of lucrative media rights contracts from regional football federations" through the payment of up to $110M in bribes. Although the Copa is usually contested every four years by teams from South America, "a special centenary version was announced for next year with teams from all over the Americas" (REUTERS, 10/16).
