CBF unveils plan to unite Libra and FFU in one Brazilian league | OneFootball

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) gathered, this Monday (6), representatives from the 40 clubs competing in Série A and Série B of the Brazilian Championship to present a study aimed at creating a unified league in the country. Corinthians was present at the meeting through Gabriel Diniz and André Lavieri, members of the club’s Restructuring Committee.

Currently split into two commercial blocs, Libra and LFU (Futebol Forte União, the group Corinthians is part of), the clubs received an initial schedule proposal from the entity to move the project forward. The idea is that, by the end of July, the executives submit suggestions and proposals. CBF’s goal, meanwhile, is to finalize and present the new league’s bylaws by the end of this year.

Photo: Rafael Ribeiro/CBF

The schedule suggested by the entity is divided into three stages throughout 2026:May to July 2026: collection of suggestions and drafting of referral proposals;August to September 2026: presentation, adjustments, and approval of the proposals;October to December 2026: structuring of the phases – commercialization and the league’s bylaws.

The meeting took place at a hotel in Barra da Tijuca, in the western zone of Rio de Janeiro, and focused on presenting a diagnosis prepared by CBF itself. The material compares Brazilian football with established leagues such as the Premier League, La Liga, and the Bundesliga.

During the presentation, confederation officials emphasized that, before discussing revenue sharing — a topic that often generates conflict, as in the recent case involving Flamengo and Libra clubs — it is essential to increase the total amount of money generated by Brazilian football. It was also highlighted that any changes to broadcast contracts would only be valid from 2030 onward, since the current agreements remain in force until 2029.

The study also highlighted the financial gap compared with Europe’s top leagues. Even with a larger population and more clubs in the top division, Brazil generates less than one-third of the revenue produced by the Bundesliga. CBF also pointed to the domestic market’s potential: around 140 million Brazilians support a club, with about 40 million considered highly engaged with the sport. For the entity, this shows that Brazilian football can still grow significantly in value.

In addition to the financial issue, the survey addressed recurring structural problems in Brazilian football, such as refereeing, the calendar, and financial fair play. In total, ten criteria were analyzed in comparison with England, Spain, and Germany, and Brazil performed worse in all of them: calendar, playing time, stadiums – attendance and safety, stadiums – infrastructure, broadcasting, communication and social media, marketing, talent exodus, governance of the regulations, and financial sustainability.

One of the points highlighted was match kickoff times. In Brazil, approximately 80% of games are played at night, while in England that figure is around 25%. In Spain, it reaches about 60%, and in Germany, around 30%. According to CBF, this difference may directly impact stadium attendance, which is already lower in Brazil compared with those leagues.

Another factor influencing low fan attendance is safety. A recent survey found that 74% of the public considers insecurity one of the main reasons for not attending matches.

The entity also cited international examples of leagues that evolved by standardizing broadcasts and strengthening their presence on social media, pointing to possible paths for the growth of Brazilian football. At the same time, it intends to leave more sensitive discussions under the responsibility of the future club league.

Among these topics is the use of synthetic pitches, currently adopted by clubs such as Atlético-MG, Athletico, Botafogo, Chapecoense, and Palmeiras in Série A, an issue that still faces resistance from most teams. Also under debate are the possible reduction in the number of relegated clubs, from four to three, and a review of the limit on foreign players per match, currently set at nine.

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.