Mastercard gave up sponsoring the America Cup What will be celebrated in Brazil, after the refusal of Colombia Y Argentina, and that has generated a huge controversy due to the high incidence of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
“After a careful analysis, we decided not to activate our sponsorship of the Copa América in Brazil,” the US multinational said in a note released to the media.
In this way, Mastercard, which has supported the competition since 1992, will not display its brand or promote advertising in this edition of the America's Cup, which will begin next Sunday and will run until July 10 in Brazil.
The contest, which in 2020 was already postponed due to the health crisis, was initially going to be held in Colombia and Argentina, but both countries lost the possibility of holding it for various reasons.
The first due to the serious protests that occur in its territory and the second due to the critical situation of its hospitals due to the coronavirus, similar to that in Brazil.
It was then that Brazil agreed to host the competition at the last minute, in a decision that had the approval of President Jair Bolsonaro and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), and that was criticized by the most diverse political sectors, from the left to the the moderate right, and sanitary.
With more than 475,000 deaths and 17 million infections, Brazil is the Latin American country most affected by SARS-CoV-2, the second in the world with the most deaths and the third with the most positives, behind the United States and India.
In the last seven days, the South American giant reported about 60,000 cases and some 1,650 daily deaths linked to the disease.
In the four host cities, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Cuiabá and Goiania, the public health system is under severe pressure with occupancy rates for intensive care units ranging from 70 to 90%
Last week there was speculation about a possible boycott by the players, led by the Brazilians, who finally chose to play the tournament, although they criticized the way it has been organized.
“We are against the organization of the Copa América, but we will never say no to the Brazilian team,” the players and coaches said in a manifesto at the end of the match against Paraguay for the qualifying rounds for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
However, the cup remains in suspense, as the Brazilian Supreme Court will analyze from next Thursday two appeals that ask for the suspension of the tournament.