A British Columbia non-profit that supports people with spinal injuries was forced to cancel a raffle for a pair of World Cup tickets after receiving a nine-page letter from FIFA's lawyers, accusing it of trademark infringement and ticket rule violations.
Chris McBride, executive director of Spinal Cord Injury BC, said a staff member purchased two tickets on behalf of the organization through regular channels for the June 21 game between New Zealand and Egypt at Vancouver's BC Place, with a face value of about $500 each.
"We just thought this would be a fun way to not only make a little bit of money … but also as a fun way for our supporter base to have low-barrier access to tickets to a game that they probably wouldn't be able to afford otherwise," McBride said.
He estimates they'd raised about $2,300 in raffle tickets when the letter from the Toronto-based law firm Lipkus Law, representing soccer's world governing body, arrived on May 11 informing the charity that it was violating trademark rules and ticketing policy.
"We trust that we can rely on your support in respecting FIFA's ticketing rights," the letter says.
"We are writing to ensure that you are fully aware of the legal implications of conducting marketing, advertising and/or other activities facilitating the unauthorized promotion of tickets without the required authorization of FIFA."
McBride said his organization cancelled the raffle and refunded money to anyone who had bought tickets.
"We were a little surprised, but you know, we understood that we were in violation of policies. I mean, there's no real complaint there from us. We're just disappointed that this small little enterprise … the opportunity was being denied to us," he said.
A spokesperson for FIFA said in a statement that tickets are issued as "personal, revocable licences and may not be used for any advertising, promotional or competition purposes, including raffles, sweepstakes or similar activities, without FIFA’s prior written consent."
"These provisions are intended to protect the integrity and fair allocation of tickets, ensure that access is provided through controlled and secure channels, and safeguard the commercial rights that underpin the organization and delivery of the FIFA World Cup," the statement said.
McBride said that as news spread of the raffle's cancellation — first reported by the Breaker news site — they received a lot of support from the community, as well as some donations.
He said people are feeling "very outraged with FIFA" and supportive of his organization.
"It's hitting a nerve, and I think it highlights … that FIFA is really good at extracting resources from host communities, but not so good at finding ways to help give back to them," he said.
FIFA said in its statement that it recognizes the important work carried out by charities around the world and is "significantly engaged in charitable and socially impactful initiatives surrounding the tournament."
McBride said the two tickets have been put up for sale on an official resale marketplace. He doesn't expect the organization to make back all the money it spent on the raffle but said it is "not going to be out a huge amount."
Picture Courtesy: Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP, File
