DirecTV, Fox Worked With FIFA Middlemen

American media companies, including DirecTV and 21st Century Fox, have had business relationships with the sports-marketing firms at the center of the corruption scandal that has rocked international soccer.

US authorities charged executives at the marketing firms, including Traffic Group and Torneos y Competencias, with paying or facilitating bribes to officials linked to FIFA, soccer’s governing body, to secure lucrative TV and sponsorship rights to games. The US TV companies have been important customers of Traffic and Torneos, acquiring rights to major soccer events through them, as have other broadcasters around the world. Satellite broadcaster DirecTV owns 40% of Argentine sports- marketing firm Torneos. Torneos is a part-owner of Datisa, a company that acquired rights to the Copa America tournament allegedly through bribes of more than $100 million to soccer officials, according to the indictment. DirecTV has four of the nine board seats at Torneos. 21st Century Fox has its own connection to Torneos as well as to Traffic Group, a Brazilian company that also acquired soccer rights and resold them to broadcasters.