Although there is no closed agreement that brings together the 40 Brazilian clubs in the A and B series, there is a possibility that the new national football league will be formally announced on the 12th. The teams are still divided into divergent groups.
The idea is that the formalization takes place at the headquarters of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation), with the presence of all representatives and Ednaldo Rodrigues, president of the confederation.
The path has setbacks. Top hats meeting held this Tuesday (3) was marked by disagreements, debates on different proposals, disagreements over money, complaints of egocentrism and a heated discussion between Athletico president Mario Celso Petraglia and lawyer Flavio Zveiter.
Zveiter was at the meeting as responsible for writing the statute of the new league, which will be called Libra. His presence displeased Petraglia, who said that the event was restricted to club presidents.
Three presidents told the Sheet that the top hat got annoyed with a statement from the lawyer and replied that no one would teach him how to make a garter. Zveiter raised his voice, and tempers flared. Zveiter later apologized to the others for the bickering.
Petraglia is representative of a union of clubs called “Football Forte” and is composed, in addition to Athletico, by Fluminense, Fortaleza, Coritiba, Internacional, Atlético-GO, Atlético-MG, Avaí, Ceará, Goiás and Juventude.
Leaders of other teams were annoyed with the positioning of the representatives of this group, especially Petraglia. One of the presidents, who was not at the meeting, but sent a representative, defined that they want to put some obstacles in the way every time they see progress.
Other top hats, in turn, were upset with the behavior of teams from São Paulo (Corinthians, Palmeiras, Santos, São Paulo and Bragantino) and Flamengo. All these associations signed the formation of the new league, along with América-MG and Cruzeiro.
The other 32 saw an attempt to force a situation for everyone to immediately endorse the new format of national football.
Upon arriving at the meeting, Palmeiras representative Leila Pereira announced that she was there to sign the creation of the new league and would not leave the meeting without doing so. She later announced the signing on her Instagram account.
The division of groups of clubs also comes up against a question of how the league should be. The eight who signed the document believe that the most important thing is to create a fact, which would be the announcement of the league’s formal existence. Another group, including Futebol Forte, wants to resolve all pending issues before signing any document.
The biggest one is how the money will be divided.
One of the proposals is that the difference in revenue distribution is such that the champion receives 3.5 times more than the last place, with the others between these two levels.
It is a model that mirrors LaLiga, as the Spanish Championship is called, and more unequal than the Premier League, the English Championship, considered the greatest example of national club leagues. In England, the difference between the first and the last in the distribution of money is in the proportion of 1.5.
There is another idea, the “40-30-30”, similar to what is currently used in the contract with Grupo Globo. In this case, 40% of everything collected would be divided equally, 30% according to the final classification and 30% within an equation that considers media exposure, broadcast games and other variables.
Futebol Forte accepts this principle, but wants the distribution to be in the proportion of 50-25-25.
In all these cases, the amount to be split would include pay-per-view money, which is not covered in the current television contract, which expires in 2024.
“It wasn’t what I expected, as we need the debate to be expanded further. Eighty percent of clubs have not signed. We need a set of ideas that is inclusive for all clubs, not something that looks like imposition. We are talking about 40 clubs, and only eight signed. This is far from representing the will of the majority”, complained the president of Fortaleza, Marcelo Paz.
Among the 40, Vasco and Botafogo adopted the strategy of not being totally in favor of either side and seeking a consensus.
“There is no reason to rush. Botafogo is aware of its value, the league’s capacity, and will fight for the format that combines its interests and those of the clubs as a whole. We believe that the next step is to bring together the 40 main clubs in Brazilian football at the CBF headquarters, on the 12th, for a consensus position. Until then, everyone will have time to evaluate the terms that are on the table”, opined Botafogo CEO, Jorge Braga.
Presidents heard by the report complained that the rush to sign goes against the spirit of the sports association.
The argument presented by them is that endorsing the creation of the league means deciding the future and the resources of the association for the following years. For this, approval by the deliberative council of each institution would be necessary. One of the top hats complained that the rush had a component of vanity on the part of clubs that want to claim to be founders of the new league of clubs in Brazilian football.
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