MEXICO CITY — The CONCACAF confederation which runs soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean has chosen Soccer United Marketing (SUM) to sell its sponsorship rights for five years, it said on Tuesday.
The announcement came as FIFA said it had agreed, subject to conditions, to reverse its decision from February to cut off funding to the confederation.
CONCACAF, due to elect a new president on Thursday, has been at the centre of a corruption scandal that has engulfed world soccer and seen 42 individuals and entities charged in the United States on a variety of graft-related offences.
SUM is the marketing wing of Major League Soccer (MLS) and will have the right to sell sponsorship for competitions such as the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League.
“CONCACAF is delighted to have reached this agreement with SUM, one of the most highly recognised marketing companies within the sport,” said CONCACAF acting general secretary Ted Howard.
“We are confident that SUM’s global network and expertise will play a vital role in negotiating innovative sponsorship opportunities for our tournaments and events.”
CONCACAF said in a statement that the decision followed a five-month bidding process where 24 “international, experienced and reputable firms” were invited to take part.
Three of CONCACAF’s most recent presidents, Trinidad and Tobago’s Jack Warner, Cayman Islander Jeffrey Webb and Honduran Alfredo Hawit, are all among the 42 indicted in the U.S.
The candidates for Thursday’s election are Victor Montagliani, head of the Canadian FA, and Larry Mussenden, head of the Bermuda FA.
In February, CONCACAF voted for wide-ranging reforms which included the introduction of a representative Council, charged with policy formulation, separate from a General Secretariat, which will handle day-to-day business matters.
A new independent ethics committee will be formed and a series of positions will be held over on committees for independent figures without links to the game.
However, three weeks before the vote on reforms, FIFA said it had put contributions to CONCACAF “on hold”.
A source close to CONCACAF said the amount came to around $10 million in payments, including expected World Cup revenues and money from the global body’s Financial Assistance Programme.
FIFA said on Tuesday that this decision had been reversed.
“The Audit and Compliance committee has acknowledged the measures taken by CONCACAF and has agreed to lift the suspension on the frozen funds,” said FIFA in a statement.
“However, the release of the funds is still subject to the fulfilment of the requirements cited in the FIFA development regulations.”
BRIAN HOMEWOOD
