Marin warns of no quick fix for Brazilian football’s fall from power
By Samindra Kunti
March 20 – Jose Maria Marin, the president of the Brazilian FA, has said that “Brazilian football is going to pass through a very difficult time.”
South America
Paper pushers take over Brasilia’s Garrincha stadium; Romario complains
By Samindra Kunti
March 13 – The Brazilian government has announced that three government secretariats will take office at the Mane Garrincha stadium. Once more, Senator Romario criticized the high costs for the renovation of the stadium.
Corinthians chase €12.6m Sao Paulo city cash promise for stadium build
By Samindra Kunti
March 3 – Corinthians and the city of Sao Paulo are at odds over a development incentive certificate (DIC) for the Arena Corinthians, worth €12.6 million.
Vasco Da Gama line up sponsors for start of Brasileiro
By Samindra Kunti
February 20 – Brazilian club Vasco Da Gama will renew its major sponsorship deals with Guaracamp and Caixa. The news is a boost for the Rio club ahead of its return to the Brazilian top-flight.
Corinthians close out 2014 finances with €29.4m headache
By Samindra Kunti
February 2 – Corinthians have closed the financial year 2014 with a €29.8 million deficit. The losses could impact on the club’s presidential elections on February 7.
CBF rules to bring financial control to Brazil’s faltering clubs
By Samindra Kunti
January 23 – The Brazilian FA, the CBF, has presented new regulations for 2015 with the threefold aim to regulate and bring discipline to Brazil’s domestic football finances and create more transparency.
Santos in turmoil as players sue for unpaid wages
By Samindra Kunti
January 16 – Brazilian club Santos is facing a mutiny in its ranks after four players took the club to court over arrears for outstanding salaries and fees. The judicial trouble is hampering Santos’s preparations for the new domestic season which begins with the state leagues this month – Santos play in the Paulista.
Brazil conforms and sets date for ending TPO funding practices
By Andrew Warshaw
January 14 – In a major boost for the regulation of the international transfer market, third-party ownership of footballers will become illegal in Brazil from May 1, bringing the country into line with a global FIFA ban on the practice that comes into effect at the same time.
VIVO connects to Brazil for further 8-year sponsorship
January 12 – Telecom brand VIVO, part of Telefônica Brasil, has renewed its sponsorship with the Brazilian national teams for another eight years. The partnership has existed since 2004 and incorporates both male and female teams.
Brazil clubs row over TV rights cash as the big get rich and the small get hungry
By Samindra Kunti
January 9 – Vasco Da Gama president Eurico Miranda has criticised the TV rights structure in Brazilian football. He opposes what he calls the elitism and ‘Hispanisation’ of the domestic game with unequal shares of TV money widening the gap between clubs.
Pele signs life-long image rights deal with Santos, on his hospital bed
By Ricardo Setyon
December 15 – The recent illness of Pele that kept the Brazilian nation anxiously watching their news bulletins, was also the opportunity for the football legend to announce his latest image rights deal.
Asprilla forced to leave town after gangsters threaten family at gunpoint
December 12 – Memories of the cold-bloodied murder 20 years ago of Colombian World Cup star Andres Escobar have come flooding back following the latest harrowing tale of intimidation, this time involving Faustino Asprilla, who won 57 caps for the country.
Argentinian Franco Nieto brutally beaten to death after league match
December 5 – Argentine football has been stunned by another shocking fatal tragedy after a player was brutally attacked. Franco Nieto (pictured), captain of regional club Tiro Federal was struck on the head following a third-tier match against rivals Chacarita Juniors in the town of Aimogasta, in north-west Argentina.
Brazil’s Corinthians; a club to live and die with
By Ricardo Setyon
November 24 – They came, they saw, they conquered. And now they can die in peace. Corinthians fans now have their own special resting place – perhaps ironically for a club that has suffered the rollercoaster of life’s highs and lows.
More Chilean racism as domestic fixture is suspended
Another incident of racism has struck at the heart of Chilean domestic football, this time prompting the referee to take the players off.
O’Higgins, who won Chile’s Apertura league championship last year, already face sanctions after fans made racist chants and gestures towards San Marcos de Arica’s Venezuelan striker Emilio Renteria during a first division match.