World Cup rights issue unresolved

ISL had commercial rights for World Cup 2002

The multi-million pound issue of who owns the commercial rights to the 2002 World Cup might not be resolved for several weeks, it has emerged.

The sports marketing company ISL, which was one of two organisations to which Fifa had sold the TV rights to the 2002 World Cup, recently went bankrupt.

Friday's Financial Times suggested that ISL's administrator, Ernst and Young, was considering whether to sell the company's commercial and media rights to the World Cup to its creditors.

Fifa has always insisted that these rights should automatically revert to it.

Month's wait

Thomas Vauer, case manager for Ernst and Young, said: "There was a meeting of the creditors on Wednesday and the administrator was appointed.

But he added: "I have barely had a chance to have a look at the file."

Vauer said he would prepare a report on how to proceed with the case and then make his recommendation to creditors.

But he would not say when his report will be completed.

However, creditors are not expected to meet until the end of July or even the end of August, meaning that it could be at least a month before the issue is resolved.

Vauer had no comment to make on the newspaper reports.