Ponte Preta backs SAF move amid crisis; key details | OneFootball

Ponte Preta will hold a new Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) this Saturday, the 19th, to discuss the creation of the SAF. The meeting will take place in the Noble Hall of Moisés Lucarelli, starting at 8 a.m., after the August attempt ended without a vote.

RTI Esporte Agency has learned that the members’ decision will be made by secret individual ballot. The first call is scheduled for 8 a.m., with a second call at 8:30 a.m., while the voting deadline ends at 2:30 p.m.

For the proposal to be approved, it must receive the support of two-thirds of the members present. Ponte Preta has approximately 750 members, but the exact number of votes required will depend on how many eligible people attend the assembly.

The vote will not decide the sale of the football department or the entry of an investor. The members will ratify the decision of the Deliberative Council, made on June 17, which authorized moving forward with the SAF through the separation of football from the club’s other activities.

Approval does not authorize the sale of assets

The EGM notice states that approval does not authorize the sale of Ponte Preta’s real estate, assets, or rights. The proposal of around R$ 1 billion for the future SAF will also not be voted on by the membership this Saturday.

The project provides for debt repayment, investments in professional and youth football, as well as structural improvements. Any eventual contracts with investors will still depend on the Deliberative Council and a new General Meeting.

Court orders measures for the new EGM

The assembly is being held under a series of court orders prompted by lawsuits filed by opposition members. Among the measures are the disclosure of the list of members eligible to vote and the monitoring of the proceedings by notaries.

The meeting must also be fully recorded on video, with the events entered into the minutes. The Deliberative Council also said it requested increased security from the Military Police and the Municipal Guard for the event.

The first EGM on the matter took place on August 24, but ended without the members reaching a vote. The meeting was marked by confusion and by injunctions related to transparency and the format of the deliberation.

Opposition questions how the process has been conducted

The discussion over the SAF has also deepened Ponte Preta’s internal political dispute. Council member Gustavo Garcia Valio, former finance director under Marco Antonio Eberlin’s administration, took questions about how the process was being conducted to court.

Valio says he is in favor of the SAF, but argues that members must have access to the necessary information. Another 158 council members requested an EGM to discuss the removal of Luiz Antonio Alves Torrano and Marco Antonio Eberlin, but the request has not yet been voted on.

In addition, ten council members facing internal disciplinary proceedings obtained court rulings guaranteeing their participation in this Saturday’s assembly at Moisés Lucarelli, including the right to vote.

Financial crisis increases pressure on the club

The EGM will be held while Ponte Preta faces financial and sporting difficulties. The club went through salary delays that caused the squad to go on strike during Brazil’s Série B championship.

Before the stoppage, the black-and-white players said in a statement that there were about six months of unpaid wages and called for measures to reorganize the finances and bring payments up to date.

During the strike period, Ponte even used youth academy players in the match against América-MG in an attempt to avoid a walkover. The strike was later ended, but the financial problems remained.

Ponte Preta is also going through a bad spell on the pitch

The sporting situation mirrors the administrative crisis. Ponte sits in last place in Série B, with ten points, and is coming off a 6-0 defeat to Londrina. The team has now gone 22 matches without a win in the competition.

Since the end of the strike, there have been four matches, with 12 goals conceded and none scored. Any eventual approval of the SAF will allow the process to move forward, but it will not determine the entry of an investor or the transfer of the football department.

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