“Sponsors give up on exhibiting their brands at Copa América – Prime Time Zone”, 10 June 2021

...At least two companies have given up linking their brands to the America Cup, which will be played in Brazil starting this Sunday, 13. The Mastercard card network and the beverage conglomerate Ambev announced that they will not have their names displayed in the publicity actions at the event organized by Conmebol. “After careful analysis, we decided not to activate our sponsorship of the Copa América in Brazil,” said Mastercard in a statement. The decision, however, does not mean a break with the South American Football Confederation, but rather the deactivation of the actions of Copa América in Brazil. Ambev followed in the same line and decided not to associate its name to the national team championship. “Ambev informs that its brands will not be present at the Copa America. The company continues with its commitment and support to Brazilian football”, said the group through the advisory. Brazil accepted to host the championship last week after the withdrawal of Colombia, due to political problems, and Argentina, which is experiencing the worsening of the new coronavirus pandemic. The Federal Public Ministry (MPF), through the Federal Attorney for Citizens’ Rights (PFDC), filed this Monday, 7 requests for investigation of possible human rights violations involving the holding of the Copa América in Brazil. The federal attorney for the folder, Carlos Alberto Vilhena, indicated that the MPF investigate the acts practiced by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Conmebol, companies sponsoring the event (Mastercard, Ambev, Latam, Semp TCL, Diageo, Kwai, Betsson and TeamViewer ), and state and municipal governments…[T]he investigation will focus on television channels that have the rights to broadcast the Copa América such as SBT and Disney (ESPN and Fox Sports channels) and on sponsoring companies (Kwai and Betfair)...