Will MasterCard continue sponsoring UEFA Champions League, or not?

According to the report of Sport Business Mastercard has issued a statement on its sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League. The company has said that it is proud being a sponsor of UEFA Champions League since 1994. And now the company negotiates with UEFA regarding the future of their alliance, seeking a way to extend the sponsorship agreement which ends this year.

Such statement has been issued immediately after announcement of UniCredit banking group saying that it became an official partner of the UEFA Champions League for the new 2009-2012 cycle, as well as for the UEFA Super Cup in 2009, 2010, 2011. 

Actually MasterCard has a good chance to extend its contract since UniCredit will leverage the sponsorship only through banking services and products but not payment systems. And Mastercard is considered to be a payment system whose customers are banks.

Source: Sport Business International