By Samindra Kunti
April 11 – The future president of the CBF, Rogerio Caboclo, has summoned presidents of Brazil’s state federations to fill four of the confederation’s vice-president roles in an early move to cement his political permanence.
As Marco Polo Del Nero is slowly but surely heading towards football’s exit door with an investigation pending by FIFA’s Ethics Committee and accusations of corruption against Brazil’s football supremo in the United States, his hand-picked successor-in-waiting Caboclo is already manoeuvring to ensure his tenure enjoys the continued backing of the local state federations, the CBF’s power base. The move will once more alienate Brazil’s clubs.
Caboclo enjoys the support of 25 state federations. He will maintain four vice-presidents that were picked by Del Nero in 2014. He has invited four other state presidents to make up the quota of eight. They are Antonio Lopes from the state of Acre, Francisco Novelloto from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Castelar Neto from the state of Minais Gerais and Ednaldo Rodrigues from the state of Bahia.
In the electoral system of the CBF, the States’ votes weigh more heavily than those of the clubs. The 27 Federations have 81 votes, the clubs from both the topflight and the Serie B a combined 60 votes. The States receive 75,000 Reais and their presidents 20,000 Reais from the CBF.
At present Caboclo is the director of management at the CBF, but he has been instrumental in the governing body’s operations ever since Del Nero was accused of corruption. Caboclo is Del Nero’s preferred candidate to succeed him and these early political manoeuvres suggest Caboclo very much intends to honour Del Nero’s style of management. Caboclo is running opposed in the elections.
The far from democratic process has senator Romario, long a thorn in the side of the CBF, up in arms. At the start of April Romario, who has set his own sights on becoming governor of Rio de Janeiro, demanded the Brazilian government to cancel the elections. He submitted a protest to the federal assistant attorney Carlos Alberto Carvalho de Vilhena Coelho. The document was also signed by deputies Otávio Leite, Silvio Torres, João Derly and Ezequiel Teixeira, who accompanied Romario to the public ministry.
“By the simple chronology of the facts, and by the historical and operational model of operation of the entity, it is very clear that the continued manipulation by its leaders so that the electoral college of the CBF will continue acting in favour of the continuity of its management, to the detriment of the possibility of participation of the clubs and other actors that make up the football,” the document pointed out.
But criticism of the CBF doesn’t end there. Local Brazilian media reported that Gustavo Perrella was surreptitiously appointed as the entity’s director of development and projects. In 2014 Perrella became infamous in Brazil when 445 kg of cocaine were found in his company’s helicopter. Perrella is the son of senator Zeze Perrella and previously worked for the government of Michel Temer.
The CBF had previously not disclosed Perrella’s appointment as director, but cited his experience in sports management, at the Brazilian sports ministry and Cruzeiro, as the reasons for his involvement. Perrella is expected to continue under Cabloco.
The presidential elections will take place on April 17.
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