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FOOTBALL AND POLITICS

A change to stay the same at the head of the CBF

On May 12, Carlo Ancelotti, one of the most successful football managers in the sport’s history, was announced as the new head coach of the Brazilian men’s national team. He will announce his first squad selection on Monday, to play Brazil’s two World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay at the beginning of June.

Despite the will-he-won’t-he soap opera running for the last two years, Ancelotti’s OK still came as somewhat of a surprise. The timing was off, as “Carletto” still had two league games left in charge at Real Madrid, with his send-off at the Santiago Bernabéu only taking place this morning with a match against Real Sociedad.

As it turned out, the stilted timing of the announcement was intentional, as then-president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Ednaldo Rodrigues, knew his days in charge were numbered.

Since the beginning of April, when Brazilian monthly magazine Piauí published a sprawling exposé on a litany of scandals within the CBF under Rodrigues’s stewardship, the 71-year-old’s name has been trash throughout the world of Brazilian football.

On May 15, a Rio de Janeiro court issued a ruling suspending Rodrigues from office under allegations of fraud, appointing Vice President Fernando Sarney to stand in and call new elections, scheduled for tomorrow.

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🚔 Brazil’s Civil Police recommended criminal charges of conspiracy, aggravated larceny and money laundering against Corinthians president Augusto Melo and three other men, in connection with a controversial sponsorship contract between the São Paulo club and online bookmaker Vaidebet.

• An investigation into the contract found suspicious money transfers between the club and a sports agency company, itself suspected to have links to the Primeiro Comando do Capital (PCC) organized crime group.

⚽ After five weeks out injured, Neymar made a brief return to the pitch on Thursday evening as his Santos side were dumped out of the Copa do Brasil by second-division club CRB. With his short-term contract coming to an end, Neymar has only made 10 appearances for Santos, scoring three goals.

📉 Brazil’s 20 first-division football clubs soured combined losses of BRL 1.1 billion (roughly USD 200 million) in 2024, according to data gathered by UOL football reporter Rodrigo Mattos. Only five sides reported finishing the year in the black, while Minas Gerais club Atlético Mineiro alone racked up a deficit of almost BRL 300 million.

🎾 Roland Garros gets underway this weekend, and Brazil’s tennis hopefuls are set to be in action straight away on Sunday in the French grand slam event. In the men’s competition, João Fonseca faces Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, and Thiago Monteiro takes on Vit Kopriva from Czechia.

🛶 Silver medalist in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Isaquias Queiroz won gold at the Canoe Sprint World Cup in Hungary this week in the C-1 500m event. His 20-year-old countryman Gabriel Assunção finished in fifth.

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