Three Brazilian football entities asked the CBF to take complaints to FIFA against Sports Media Entertainment and LiveMode, which controls CazéTV, accused of setting up a structure that gave private investors power over decisions and revenues of the FFU (Futebol Forte União), a group that brings together 31 clubs from Series A, B and C to collectively negotiate their broadcasting rights.
In a letter obtained by the column, Sinafut (National Union of Professional Football Associations), Anaf (National Association of Football Referees) and Fenapaf (National Federation of Professional Football Athletes) state that Sports Media Entertainment and LiveMode set up a structure that removed power over strategic decisions from the clubs and began to subject the league to the interests of investors.
The document was sent on Friday (26) to the president of the CBF, Samir Xaud. When contacted by the column, Sports Media and LiveMode did not respond until the publication of this text.
According to the entities, Sports Media, linked to the management company Life Capital Partners, began to control the transfer of money to the clubs and gained veto power over decisions by Condomínio Forte União, a structure created to manage the FFU’s commercial contracts. The letter also states that LiveMode began to occupy conflicting roles when negotiating, on behalf of clubs, broadcasting rights that it itself purchases to exploit commercially.
The three entities say that the model threatens the clubs’ autonomy and may violate FIFA rules that prohibit interference by external agents in the administration of sports associations. Therefore, they ask that the CBF forward the case to the international entity.
The letter cites a sequence of recent decisions and demonstrations that, according to its authors, reinforce the accusation. Among them are a precautionary measure from Cade this Friday that avoids obstacles to clubs leaving the FFU, a court decision that prevented Sports Media from using economic pressure on clubs and an opinion from the Ministry of Sports that pointed out the risk of loss of team autonomy in favor of financial investors.
The document also mentions reports that the CEO of Sports Media had pressured a club to drop a lawsuit and the administrator of Condomínio Forte União had interfered in the internal functioning of the club association. The entities claim that the episodes reveal an attempt to “capture” the Brazilian Championship by financial interests.
The offensive expands a dispute that is already in court. In April, Sinafut filed a public civil action against Sports Media, accusing the company of making the transfer of revenue from broadcasting rights conditional on the signing of internal documents and the withdrawal of legal proceedings by the clubs. At the time, Sports Media stated that it was not responsible for financial transfers to the teams.
com DIEGO ALEJANDRO, JULLIA GOUVEIA and KARINA MATIAS
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