SAFIEL creator outlines next steps for the project's petition | OneFootball

Last Saturday (27), the creators of SAFIEL, a group proposing the transformation of Corinthians into a Football Corporation (SAF) by raising at least R$ 2.5 billion and enabling fan participation through the sale of shares, held an event attended by influencers and journalists to boost the SAFIEL NOW movement.

The initiative aims to gather as many signatures as possible from fans who support the non-binding proposal, which was even sent to the administration of president Osmar Stabile. In the proposal, Invasão Fiel S.A., the company behind the project, argues that Corinthians’ financial and institutional situation requires priority and immediate review of the matter by the club’s competent bodies. The document emphasizes that Timão’s total debt already exceeds R$ 2.8 billion and has a structural and growing nature, consuming approximately 40% of recurring annual revenue solely in interest payments.

Photo: Reproduction/Central do Timão

In an exclusive interview with Central do Timão, one of the project’s creators, Maurício Chamatti, commented on the next steps regarding the petition and said he is satisfied with the level of engagement so far. He also recalled the meetings the group had with Leonardo Pantaleão and Romeu Tuma Jr., president of the Ethics Committee and of the Deliberative Council, respectively.

“I think we’re very pleased with the result; we have 70,000 signatures and are now aiming for 100,000. It’s been about two weeks since we launched it, so trying to reach 100,000 is, I think, the ultimate goal of what we set out to do. We’re always open to listening to the club. Pantaleão opened the door, Tuma has already opened the door, Osmar (Stabile) spoke with us once, but we do expect 100,000 to be enough, yes. In the last election, we had 3,000 people voting; I think 100,000 is at least 33 times the number of people who voted in the election. So, it’s a significant number that should be respected by those who run Corinthians, especially a club built on democracy,” he said.

Later, Chamatti explained why the proposal submitted to Corinthians is non-binding, that is, it does not obligate the club to actually carry out the operation. He stresses the importance of the club’s approval so SAFIEL can go to the market in search of the initially proposed funding and, as a result, so the institution’s debts can be paid off.

“It is indeed non-binding. What does that mean? The club has no commitment. We’ve already heard that you can raise a fund, raise this money without a specific purpose, yes, but we need the banks to get involved to help with this fundraising; it’s not a small amount. So, for the banks to get involved, approach clients, bring in the Corinthians fan base to invest—we’re seeking two and a half billion, so we need Corinthians to authorize it, and the banks need that. But it’s non-binding, because from the moment we bring this in, we’ll take it to the club, and that’s when it will decide whether to accept it.”

“What’s described there, and where there’s some confusion in reading it, is very much about what would happen if the project moves forward, if it is accepted at that point. The only thing we’re asking for—there’s no trick—we work very transparently, so anyone saying there’s some trick involving something binding, that doesn’t exist. What is being done there is a request to authorize us to allow banks, for example, to carry out this fundraising, and only afterward will valuation and several other things be discussed at a later stage. I understand that Parque São Jorge, which in my view is in charge, has already understood this, but the problem is that if we raise the money, it becomes very difficult to stop it. So they don’t even want to take that step, because if we show up with two and a half billion, it solves the debt, solves everything, brings governance, and then it becomes harder to hold back than it already is today,” he concluded.

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