Conmebol, South American football’s governing body, has released another statement confirming the Uruguay-based Full Play Group as the only legitimate seller for the rights to the 2015 Copa América.
The governing body decided to issue the statement following recent claims from the Brazil-based Traffic Sports agency that it has agreed deals for the 2015 Copa in the US, Europe and Asia.
Traffic is in a legal dispute with Full Play and Conmebol over the rights to the 2015 tournament. Traffic claims that it has an agreement with Conmebol for the 2015 Copa rights, as well as a matching right for the 2019 tournament, based on a contract that was signed in 2001.
The agency has filed a lawsuit in the US against Conmebol, its 10 member associations and Full Play to protect its claim to the exclusive commercial rights to the 2015 Copa. Full Play and Conmebol maintain that the Florida court has no jurisdiction over them. Conmebol’s contracts with Traffic and Full Play were signed at its headquarters in Asunción, Paraguay.
Conmebol and Full Play signed a 13-year contract agreement, from 2011 to 2023, on June 8, 2010, which, in addition to Full Play acting as the exclusive global commercial agent for the next three versions of the Copa America, also covers seven editions of the U-20 South American Youth Championship and seven editions of the South American U-17 Championship.
Full Play has already done deals for the 2015 Copa in the US with pay-television broadcaster beIN Sport worth $30 million (€23 million) to $35 million and in Chile with commercial broadcaster Canal 13 ($12 million). It has also signed two-tournament deals for the 2015 and 2019 tournaments in Brazil with the media group Globo ($30 million) and in Argentina with the Torneos y Competencias agency.
Conmebol released a statement in December last year confirming Full Play as the exclusive global commercial agent for the rights to the 2015, 2019 and 2023 editions of the Copa.