Argentinian Football Association Slams Binance over Sponsorship Termination

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The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) has disputed claims
by Binance that it violated the terms of the agreement in a sports sponsorship
deal with the <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/c/cryptocurrency-exchange/">cryptocurrency exchange</a>. The association is reportedly planning
to take the matter to court.</p><p>According to a report by
the media publication SportBusiness, the AFA claims that Binance terminated the
deal abruptly due to the financial and regulatory challenges facing the
<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/e/exchange/">exchange</a>. Binance and its US affiliate, Binance.US, were <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/sec-charges-binance-ceo-over-illegal-exchanges-commingling-of-client-fund/" target="_blank">sued
by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)</a> for allegedly violating federal securities
laws.</p><p>Binance-AFA Sponsorship
Deal</p><p>Binance signed the sport sponsorship deal with the AFA in
2022. In the deal, worth an estimated USD8 million per year, the exchange was named the main sponsor
of the reigning world champions. However, the deal was not without
controversy after Socios, a fan token site, sued the association for
terminating its existing contract and signing a similar contract with Binance.</p><p>In a statement translated from Spanish, Binance said: "We regularly evaluate the results of our sport
sponsorships throughout the world and unfortunately, despite being offered time
and opportunity, the AFA has not fully complied with its contractual
obligations, which goes against our business values and our partnership
principles."</p><blockquote><p lang="es" dir="ltr">Binance ha decidido poner fin a su asociación con la AFA (Asociación del Fútbol Argentino). Regularmente, evaluamos los resultados de nuestras alianzas en todo el mundo y, lamentablemente, a pesar de que se han ofrecido tiempo y oportunidades, la AFA no ha cumplido plenamente con…</p>— Binance Argentina (@BinanceArg) <a href="https://twitter.com/BinanceArg/status/1680971083904700416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2023</a></blockquote><p>However, the AFA's
President, Pablo Toviggino, has disputed the claims citing the challenges
Binance is currently facing, including the recent announcement of staff layoffs. <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Finance Magnates</a> reported four days ago, citing the Wall Street Journal, that Binance
had <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/binance-fired-over-1000-employees-in-recent-weeksreport/" target="_blank" rel="follow">laid
off 1000 staff</a> from its
global workforce of 8,000 employees. </p><p>Citing Staff Layoffs</p><p>The staff layoff was
preceded by the <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/binance-loses-top-executives-amid-regulatory-challenges/" target="_blank" rel="follow">exit
of senior executives</a> at
Binance. In a separate report by Finance Magnates, Patrick Hillmann, Binance's
Chief Strategy Officer, was among the top executives who quit their roles at
the exchange. However, Binance's CEO Changpeng Zhao dismissed concerns about the departures as
nothing unusual.</p><p>"As markets and the
global environment for crypto exchanges, as our organizations evolve, and as
personal situations change, there is turnover in every company," Zhao
said. "We thank our ex-team members for their contributions to our growth
and wish them all the best." </p><p>Binance
has entered into several other sport sponsorship agreements with football
clubs, including Lazio, which lists the exchange as a premium partner.
Additionally, Binance is the sponsor of the Brazilian top-ranking football
league.</p>

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.