A CONCACAF spokesperson said sports marketing agency IMG and North American company Soccer United Marketing "have been awarded the commercial rights to next year's centenary Copa America tournament" in the U.S., according to Simon Evans of REUTERS. The deal "comes after a tender which saw 12 firms submit bids to handle the rights which include sponsorship arrangements and a range of broadcast deals." The rights "have been reawarded after a corruption scandal surrounding the original winner." The competition, to be played next June and feature Argentina and Brazil, "had been in doubt after the original commercial deals featured in a U.S Department of Justice indictment" of football officials and sports marketing execs. The 16-nation tournament "is being jointly run" by CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. The tournament "was only made possible after the confederations reclaimed the broadcast and sponsor rights from Datisa, a marketing firm that featured in the DOJ indictments." The U.S. Soccer Federation "had made the cancellation of contracts with Datisa and other deals a condition of hosting the tournament in the U.S." (REUTERS, 12/2).
