Clubs need to recognize their sizes, says CEO of SIGA – 07/10/2023 – Sports

The formation of a league in Brazilian football will only get off the ground when the clubs recognize that each of them has different dimensions, such as the size of the fans and the capacity to generate revenue, says the CEO of SIGA (Sport Integrity Global Alliance), the Portuguese Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros.

“The only way to reach the goal [de formar uma liga] it is if there is convergence, dialogue and cooperation, and this involves recognizing that not all clubs are equal. There are bigger clubs, there are clubs that generate more [venda] of tickets and there are clubs with greater capacity to generate income”, says the executive to Sheet.

Medeiros has followed the discussion on the subject in Brazil and points out models in which the country can seek inspiration, such as the format adopted in English football. “In England, there are three scales of revenue sharing, in addition to the Premier League’s principle of vertical solidarity with the Football League. [segunda divisão inglesa] so that no one is left behind.”

Specialist in integrity and governance in sport, the executive was general secretary of the Portuguese League and is also one of the founders of the EPFL (European Professional Football Leagues), a group that represents the leagues in Europe.

He has closely followed the process of forming leagues in countries like France, Italy and Spain and says they all had dilemmas similar to those currently being debated here. There, he says, it was necessary for the governments to act to resolve the impasses.

“It was the governments, through a legislation, that forced the clubs to centralize the commercialization of the rights generated by the competitions”, affirms the executive. “I don’t know what a path would be for Brazil because I don’t know if the federal government has the appetite to solve this problem. Now, I know that it is always preferable that decisions are taken autonomously.”

For more than a year, Brazilian clubs have been looking for this understanding, mobilized to create a model that could come into force from 2025, when the contract with Globo for the rights to broadcast Serie A and B games in the Brazilian Championship ends. on open, closed and pay-per-view TV.

In May 2022, a group gave rise to Libra (Brazilian Football League). About a month later, the LFF (Liga Futebol Futebol) emerged, formed by teams that oppose the model proposed by Libra.

The money from this contract is among the teams’ main sources of income. That’s why the impasse on how the division of money will be from a new contract. Currently, the sum of all transmission contracts is R$ 2.1 billion.

For 2025, each group has a different commercial partner. While Libra is with the investment fund Mubadala Capital, from the United Arab Emirates, the LFF works with the Serengeti Asset Management fund, from the United States.

As the formation of a league is stuck at the moment, in both groups there are clubs that are already negotiating sales of TV rights individually or as a block.

“Seeing all this from an independent perspective and from the outside, it makes no sense to continue to have disagreements when only through the union of the clubs it is possible to achieve the objectives. It is not with divisive projects that Brazil will reach the status that is within its reach and valuing the clubs themselves”, opines Medeiros.

Last month, when he granted the interview, he was in Brazil to participate in events ahead of SIGA Latin America. The entity was invited by the Ministry of Sport and the Ministry of Justice to also discuss the regulation of sports betting and the fight against match-fixing.

“There is no doubt that there is a direct relationship between the complete absence of regulation and this ‘no man’s land’, in which only those who live on the margins of the system benefit”, he warns.

“It’s not just having modern legislation. It takes training, education and training, and that requires paying attention to players, coaches, and everyone involved in clubs because they are all indispensable pieces, but they are vulnerable to predators who will try to undermine sporting ethics,” he adds.

During his visit to Brazil, Medeiros also participated in meetings to discuss female empowerment in sports management and defended the expansion of space for women in management positions.

“We are committed to creating means so that women can have sports not only as a practice space, but also to lead, assuming decision-making roles, as this adds value to the entire industry and reflects a civilizational advance”.