Soccer

Financial Fair Play is discussed between clubs and the national calendar is a major obstacle

The debate is still early, at an embryonic stage

Directors who are part of the national club committee had a meeting on Tuesday in which they began a discussion on the implementation of financial fair play in Brazil. The debate is still early, at an embryonic stage. But the idea is that the agenda evolves within the committee itself and is subsequently discussed with the other Brasileirão clubs and the CBF.

The club committee is a body whose composition changes every year. The 2024 version has as Series A representatives the presidents of Fluminense, Atlético-GO, Fortaleza, São Paulo and Internacional. The clubs want to study the topic because they perceived risks in a deregulated market.

Financial fair play is a policy that, around the world, does not have a single standard. But, in general, it assumes that the club should only spend up to a certain limit, without exceeding what it collects. The issue reached the club committee after the closing of a window with high expenses for Brazilian historical standards and, at the same time, a scenario of default.

The clubs know that there are interests on all sides involved and that they would not be able, in principle, to move these chains alone. The managers involved even envision something for the future, but avoid saying that this would already be put into practice in 2025. There has already been a financial fair play project set up by economist Cesar Grafietti after a discussion process that involved, for example, EY . But the idea was shelved at the CBF.

Even the licensing of clubs, which should gradually tighten management control rules and club structure, had its tailspin parked at the entity.

And the calendar?

The discussion on financial fair play joins the debate in the club committee on the calendar. This one, yes, thinking about 2025. It is already known that there is a chaotic scenario on the way, with the first edition of the new FIFA Club World Cup taking place. And there is no way to play the Brasileirão during the tournament, since there are three, maybe four, Brazilian clubs involved. Palmeiras, Flamengo and Fluminense have stamped passports.

The CBF will only release the 2025 calendar after Conmebol hammers out the dates of the continental tournaments. The South American calendar will be evaluated by the Conmebol board at a meeting on September 17.

The clubs also see complexity. There are a number of variations on the competition board's table. But the matter depends, mainly, on the political desire of the president of the CBF, Ednaldo Rodrigues.

Over the years, the CBF has also considered that the calendar is a reflection of the TV contracts signed by the clubs, especially with regard to concerns the states. And they won't end in 2025.