GOVERNANCE
Brazil rewrites the rules for buying a football club
Botafogo and Vasco have both filed for bankruptcy protection since becoming SAFs. Photo: Vitor Silva/Botafogo
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recently signed a new law to overhaul the framework that governs the so-called SAFs (sociedade anônimas do futebol), corporate vehicles that let a club carve its football operation into a for-profit company open to outside investors. The original 2021 law cracked the door open. This one decides who gets to walk through it, and on what terms.
A SAF separates the romance from the balance sheet. The historic, member-run association keeps the badge, the colors and the social mission; the SAF holds the squad, the contracts and the broadcasting rights, and sells equity to whoever can pay…
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