"MasterCard says a deal was signed," says Heinz Taennler, FIFA's chief attorney. "We do not share this opinion."

Visa in April agreed to become the sole financial-services sponsor of FIFA for the eight years starting in 2007. The San Francisco-based company will pay US$150 million to US$200 million, said an official who declined to be identified because of the lawsuit.

"We believe we put in a fair and square bid and think we won it fair and square," says Visa Chief Executive Officer Christopher Rodrigues.

Soccer's value has risen as broadcast, billboard and magazine ads lose their effectiveness in a world fragmented by choice.

"With 500 channels on cable and an explosion of the Internet, people have so much at their fingertips," says Tony Ponturo, vice president for sports marketing at St Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos, the world's largest brewer.

' There is no sponsorship platform anywhere in the world that rivals the FIFA World Cup. '