Visa International said today that it has reached a deal to sponsor the 2010 and 2014 World Cup soccer tournaments.
Visa, owner of the world's largest credit card network, said the eight-year deal with Fifa allows it access to competitions, special events and development programmes worldwide.
Visa will pay $170 million for the sponsorship, $10 million less than it had originally bid, Fifa President Sepp Blatter said.
The deal between Visa and Fifa, soccer's governing body, follows the $90 million settlement on June 21st of a legal fight between Fifa and Visa rival MasterCard, which had sponsored the tournament for 16 years.
MasterCard had sued Fifa in April 2006 after the soccer group awarded the coveted sponsorship for the next two World Cups to Visa. MasterCard claimed it had right of first refusal on future sponsorship of the tournament, the world's most watched sports event.
At the time of the settlement MasterCard said it decided to settle for business reasons and that it no longer wanted to work with Fifa.