Bap blasts artificial pitch before Flamengo v Atlético-MG: 'Plastic pitch' | OneFootball

Flamengo president reinforced his stance against artificial turf in Brazilian football

Flamengo is getting ready to face Atlético-MG on Sunday (26) at Arena MRV in the Brazilian Championship. Before that, Fla president Bap blasted the use of artificial turf in Brazilian football.

— Flamengo’s position on this issue is very clear. Flamengo believes that top-level football—and you only have to look at the five biggest leagues in the world—where do you see plastic pitches? Are you going to build a league in Brazil to make it bigger, more profitable, and have plastic pitches? That’s a joke. But this situation needs to be discussed within the CBF. Flamengo has already made its position clear. Plastic pitches are a way to keep football alive in countries that spend eight or nine months of the year under ice -, Bap said, before adding:

— So then we take an idea like that and bring it here just to lower maintenance costs? It’s not just because of that. It’s to make money from concerts. Whoever wants to make money from concerts should switch industries and go put on shows. Whoever wants to make money from football, from strong football, should defend natural grass pitches. This point of view from Flamengo has been clear and objective for a long time. But can Flamengo decide this? No. If it could, it would already have done so. The one that can decide is the CBF -, he concluded.

What does Flamengo think?

At the end of 2025, Flamengo officially asked the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to standardize pitches in Brazil. After that, the entity’s president, Samir Xaud, said that at some point he will discuss the issue with the clubs.

At the time, however, Samir Xaud stressed that, until further notice, the choice is up to each club that manages its own stadium. As a result, some teams continue to use artificial turf, such as Palmeiras, Botafogo, and Atlético-MG.

What now?

While waiting for new decisions regarding the use of artificial turf, Flamengo is preparing to face Atlético-MG at Arena MRV on Sunday (26). The match kicks off at 8:30 p.m. (Brasília time) and is valid for the 13th round of the Brasileirão.

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