In 2025, the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee) recorded the highest revenue in the last five years, with R$594 million raised. Around 75% of this total came from lottery transfers, a historical dependence that has become a concern for the current administration.
“We always carry out a threat and risk analysis [para a gestão]. Threats could be, for example, the government, with some deficit, deciding to revoke the laws that provide resources to sport. So, we have to be ready,” he told Sheet the president of the COB, Marco Antônio La Porta.
The fear has precedent. In 2019, the committee had payments suspended after Caixa highlighted a tax debt linked to the Brazilian Sailing Confederation. The release only occurred after intervention by the federal government, showing that, although provided for by law, the transfer may be subject to administrative decisions.
At the time, around 90% of the budget depended on these funds, exposing the COB’s financial vulnerability. In more recent years, the peak of this dependence occurred in 2021 and 2021, when the transfer represented, respectively, 91.6% and 91.9% of revenues.
At the head of the committee for just over a year, after a tight dispute against predecessor Paulo Wanderley, La Porta set the goal of gradually reducing this concentration. The strategy includes expanding private fundraising and regaining sponsors who left after the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.
“This is our mission,” said the director, whose mandate runs until 2028, the year of the Los Angeles Games, in the United States.
Having completed the first year of management, what is the main merit of this period?
It was the repositioning of the COB in national and international politics. The committee was far from Brasília, other committees and international entities. We resumed this presence and approved the Sports Incentive Law, leading the process. We also made progress in the commercial field, approaching companies and signing a contract with Adidas, which I consider the biggest commercial achievement of the first year.
How important is this law and what was the role of the COB in its approval?
The COB led this process, dialoguing with deputies and senators, especially with deputy Laura Carneiro [PSD-RJ] and Senator Leila Barros [PDT-DF]. This law is fully aligned with our discourse as a sporting nation, with a focus on development and social projects. There isn’t much of a high-performance part because that is the COB’s role, but it has what is needed to promote and develop the sport.
What are the COB’s next priority agendas in Congress?
We created the National Council of Sports Committees. We have issues that are very important to us, such as issues related to the regulation of bets and the exemption for importing sporting equipment. This directly impacts the athlete. To buy a boat, for example, you pay R$50,000, R$60,000 more just in taxes.
How was the deficit of R$78 million that you inherited from the previous administration created and how was it resolved?
The deficit was approved in the assembly in 2024, after an increase in the transfer to confederations, which went from around 45% to 60% of lottery revenues. This reduced cash by R$78 million. We have a reserve fund that allowed us to absorb this impact, but this fund is used for emergencies. Let’s suppose, for example, that one day the deputies revoke the transfer of resources from lotteries. How will COB survive? So, we reviewed the budget, we also counted on the inflow of resources from sports betting and we ended the year with financial balance. For 2026, we approved the budget with a surplus of R$8 million, maintaining the 60% transfer to the confederations.
What stage is the mapping and certification of training centers outside the Southeast region at??
We are developing a project inspired by international models. We are still defining certification criteria and levels. We spent this year studying how other countries do this. Now, we are putting together a project on how we are going to carry out this certification. He’s walking.
You previously said that you would work with athletes who were close to the podium at the Paris Games, but hit the beam. What work has been done to bring them closer to the medal in Los Angeles?
I would mention four athletes from this group who are doing very well: Hugo Calderano [tênis de mesa]Marcus Vinicius D’Almeida [tiro com arco]Ana Sátila [canoagem slalom] and Miguel Hidalgo [triatlo]. They are on the right path. We pay special attention to each of them. Let’s take Miguel’s example. What did it take for him to win the medal? [em Paris-2024]? A better sprint in the race? Be better positioned in cycling? To adjust this, he moved to Spain, to train in another group, with the same coach. And we also took a biomechanic and changed some things about his bike position. So, it’s time to work with the athletes to see what was missing.
How has the COB acted to take care of the mental health of athletes, which is also a determining factor in competitions?
You can’t worry about mental health only in high performance. This work needs to start early, in the base transition. Today, athletes have structure, support and resources, but the demands are much greater, especially on social media. That’s why we have guidance and monitoring programs, especially in grassroots competitions. Most of the time, problems are caused by social media, by the need to show that one is always doing well, show results, satisfy the sponsor, and the difficulty of dealing with criticism. Before, they complained about the lack of structure. Now, athletes’ concern is with mental health.
Which What is the COB’s position on the participation of transgender athletes in Olympic competitions?
We follow the position of the IOC, which has a very clear policy. Sport needs to be inclusive, fair and safe. So, we cannot ban anyone from playing sports. But each sport defines its rules, and these rules favor justice, with equal conditions for everyone, and safety for the athlete to compete. The IOC’s guidance is very simple: each sport has to understand the impact it will cause.
What is the role of the Olympic movement in the current geopolitical scenario amid so many conflicts?
Sport has the role of bringing together values and interests. In an Olympics, countries that have geopolitical differences compete against each other. So, sport has to be an example to society that I can be your opponent, but I don’t need to be your enemy. This is the role of the Olympic movement.
Is it a concern that the next Olympics will be held in the United States, involved in different geopolitical disputes? Do you believe in the possibility of a boycott?
The world today is very different from what it was when the last big boycott took place. [em Jogos Olímpicos]in 1984. I can’t imagine a country not going to the Games because of a geopolitical issue against the United States. Today, people can separate. When you fail to take a country to the Games, imagine what you do to an athlete who has trained his entire life for that. So, separating sport from politics is very important. I may be being too optimistic, but I don’t see a scenario today of countries boycotting the Games.
X-ray | Marco Antônio La Porta, 58
With a bachelor’s degree in physical education, his sporting base was in triathlon, a sport in which he also worked as a coach. He presided over the Brazilian Triathlon Confederation before arriving at the Brazilian Olympic Committee. In 2018, he was elected vice-president of the COB and, in 2020, was reappointed to the position on Paulo Wanderley’s ticket. In 2021, he headed the Brazilian mission at the Tokyo Olympic Games. At the end of 2024, he was elected president of the COB, defeating Paulo Wanderley.
