The Kosmos investment group is claiming 50 million dollars (45.7 million euros) from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in compensation for the breach of the agreement on the organization of the Davis Cup, its president said on Thursday. Gerard Pique.
“After the termination by the ITF, there is now a dispute between (the parties) in which we are claiming up to 50 million dollars,” said the former FC Barcelona player in an interview with the Marca newspaper. “We cannot comment further due to privacy restrictions,” he added.
Kosmos struck a 25-year deal with the ITF in 2018 to host the Davis Cup but last January the federation decided to regain control of the competition ending its agreement with the former company. footballer.
In the process, the latter filed a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the ITF for “unjustified breach of contract”, a source familiar with the matter explaining that the two parties had failed to find a financial agreement to settle their dispute.
“We think what we’ve done with the Davis Cup is a resounding success. We arrived with a competition that was in decline, which was at its lowest. And on the sporting, economic and audience levels, we have above all straightened out the tournament, ”defended Pique to the Madrid daily.
“We have quadrupled our income in one year. We went from three to fifteen sponsors. What is happening is that in 2020, the Covid arrives and changes everything in all sports”, he analyzed.
“In 2020 there was no Davis Cup, for part of 2021 it was played behind closed doors… The fixed price we were paying was out of the market,” insists the Kosmos boss referring to a payment of “40 million per year”.
“Covid was impossible to predict,” he recalled, explaining that “many leagues and federations adapted and the ITF decided that they did not want to renegotiate their conditions.
Kosmos transformed the Davis Cup format from 2019. The popular home and away duels, and five-set matches on a schedule throughout the year, were dropped. However, the new formula has struggled to convince.
