Understand new rules for foreigners and synthetic grass – 03/06/2024 – Sport

Announced this Tuesday (6) as one of the new regulations for the 2024 Brazilian Championship, the increase in the number of foreign players that can be used per match is seen by clubs as a way of minimizing the impact caused by the early departure of athletes. Brazilians abroad.

The measure was unanimously approved by the clubs during the Technical Council of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation). Starting with this year’s edition of Nacional, nine players from outside the country can be used by each team in each game. Until 2023, the limit was five per match.

“Brazilian players go abroad very young, which means we end up losing a lot of talent. South Americans, who are the main foreigners in Brazil, can come and replace these losses”, comments the president of the Cuiabá, Cristiano Dresch.

“It is an important moment for Brazilian football, as it allows clubs to have an even greater range of opportunities in the South American market, with such clear and evident growth, bringing us extremely interesting options for great players”, says the president of Internacional, Alessandro Barcellos.

“I also don’t think this will hinder the emergence of new talents in the country, for example, as the youth teams are the true essence of our roots, both technically and financially”, added the director.

Despite the clubs’ support, Fenapaf (National Federation of Professional Football Athletes) took a study to the CBF that showed more than 140 foreigners in Series A and B of the Brazilian Championship and used the data to oppose the new increase.

Before the new resolution, clubs could already sign more than nine foreign players, however there is a limit on the number of athletes that can be listed for each match, which will now be nine.

Synthetic grass

The 20 clubs in Series A of the Brazilian Championship also approved a change in relation to the use of synthetic pitches. Now, teams that use this type of field are required to open their stadiums to visiting teams if they want to train there the day before the games.

For now, the measure only applies to the Brazilian Championship and not to other CBF competitions, such as the Copa do Brasil, for example.

During the vote, Botafogo even expressed its opposition to the measure, but, when the score ended with 19 to 1, the Rio team decided to change its mind so the decision could be unanimous.

The decision, however, is only valid for the 2024 season. For the next editions, a new debate will be held by the clubs. There is still a lot of disagreement, especially related to the possibility of this type of lawn offering a greater risk of injuries for athletes.

According to Flávia Magalhães, a doctor who has worked in the sport for over 20 years, with work carried out for CBF, Conmebol and clubs such as Atlético-MG, “there is no consensus in the scientific literature about the greater number of injuries on synthetic grass than on natural grass”.

According to her, “independent variables, such as type of footwear, climate, contact or non-contact sports and field wear make it difficult to carry out an excellent study, with data eligible for science.”

Flávia also states that “artificial grasses began to be introduced into sports in 1960 and, since then, there has been great evolution in the materials produced with regard to the durability and versatility of the floors. There is a discrepancy between the perception of injuries by players and scientific proof”.

In addition to the athletes’ complaints, some clubs say that this type of pitch unbalances the championship dispute. “I think that synthetic grass should be banned in Brazil as soon as possible, it is a huge competitive advantage for those who use this field to host their games”, says the president of Cuiabá.

“It’s true that in Brazil there is difficulty in improving natural lawns, but it’s not difficult to do. At Arena Pantanal, for example, Cuiabá tripled the investment in the lawn precisely to leave the field in excellent condition”, added Cristiano Dresch.

Changes to VAR

The CBF also announced that, during Brazilian Championship games, referees will explain their decisions made based on analyzes carried out by VAR (video referee).

Announcements will be made using the microphone already used by field referees. The measure was approved by FIFA, which has also used the resource in competitions organized by football’s highest entity.

In Brazil, the novelty was recently tested in the women’s Super Cup final, when Corinthians took the title by beating Cruzeiro in the final, 1-0, in February.