Traffic Sports vs Conmebol over commercial rights to the Copa América.
A tense match off the pitch
Nothing gets emotions high in Latin America quite like football, and the litigation between Traffic Sports and Full Play Group over rights to the Copa América was no exception.
The litigation between sports event manager Traffic Sports and Argentina’s Full Play Group resolved a two-year controversy involving 10 Latin American countries and the championship of a very Latin American sport: football.
At stake were the commercial rights to the Copa América, the Latin American football championship held every four years, granted by the South American football federation, Conmebol. For more than two decades, Traffic Sports had been the exclusive promoter of the Copa América, and held the commercial rights to contract with sponsors for advertising as well as signing television, radio and internet broadcast agreements. As Traffic Sports began preparations for the 44th edition of the cup (scheduled for 2015 in Chile), Full Play announced it held the rights to the 2015 event in line with a different contract.