The sponsors have withdrawn from the Copa del Rey in Brazil due to the danger of Covid

A trio of corporate sponsors – Mastercard, Ambev and Diageo – have taken their marks out of the Brazilian Copa America football competition as it kicks off on Sunday despite the country’s severe Covid-19 crisis.

The largest nation in Latin America offered to the host regional championship, at the end of last month, after the previous and left together the hosts of Argentina and Colombia. One mentioned by Buenos Aires an increasing number of coronavirus cases, Bogota, meanwhile, blamed domestic protests.

The decision to intervene in Brazil, backed by right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, led to censorship by many doctors and opposition politicians, who argued that the virus was at risk of further spreading the virus as the pandemic continues unabated in the country.

Mastercard said it had decided to remove its brand from this year’s Copa del Rey after detailed analysis, although it will remain a sponsor of the competition, which was delayed by 2020.

The British alcoholic beverage group Diageo, which owns Smirnoff, Guinness and Johnnie Walker, said it would stop all branded activities “given the current state of health in Brazil and the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“The terms of protection were agreed when the event was scheduled to take place in Colombia and Argentina,” the company added. “Diageo reaffirmed its commitment to society by observing security protocols and institutional actions that help mitigate the pandemic.”

World beer maker Ambev, part of AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, said “its brands will not be in the Copa America.”

Untrusted votes have come as Brazil faces a potential third wave of Covid-19 infections with a cooler season.

With more than 480,000 lives lost, the country has suffered the second highest number of deaths from respiratory disease after the US. A shortage of jabs has complicated vaccination campaigns.

“We are still in a very serious situation,” said Marcelo Ramos, a public health researcher at the Fiocruz Biomedical Institute. “When it was announced that Brazil would host the Copa America, the message was that we are in a calm situation, and that does not match reality.”

However, the country’s Health Minister stressed this week that organizing football competitions would not create any additional risk of contamination as there will be no fans attending the matches.

Bolsonaro has won international acclaim for treating the pandemic, including underestimating the use of masks and talking about the importance of vaccines.

The former army captain received a boost from the chain of Brazilian chain stores in Havana, as co-founder Luciano Hang declared his support for the president when he announced he would sponsor the tournament.

“I am sure it will be a competition that will delight all the people of Brazil,” he said.

This week the Brazilian Supreme Court rejected attempts to prevent the country from hosting the Copa America.

The Brazilian Football Confederation and the South American Football Confederation did not respond to requests for comment.