São Paulo's ruling camp rules out Massis re-election, picks candidate | OneFootball

The incumbent groups at São Paulo have reached a consensus for the next presidential election, which will take place at the end of the year. Named the “New Alliance,” the slate chose not to put forward Harry Massis Júnior for re-election and will instead have businessman Adílson Alves Martins as its candidate in the race.

The information was first reported by journalist Ramoni Artico, from São Paulo Digital, and confirmed to AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR by sources at the top of São Paulo’s hierarchy.

A former supporter of Julio Casares, Adílson has been mentioned as a possible candidate since the days when the former president was still in charge. Currently, in addition to being a lifetime council member, he serves as the presidency’s financial advisor and is seen behind the scenes as one of the Tricolor’s main political leaders.

“New Alliance” is made up of a coalition of five political blocs: Vanguarda, Somos São Paulo (SSP), Legião, Participação, and Sempre Tricolor. According to the report, Massis, who did in fact want to run for re-election, ended up being passed over because of the heavy wear and tear his administration has suffered with the fans, mainly due to poor sporting results and rising debt (which led to salary delays for the squad).

The vice-presidential spot on the slate is expected to be filled by Vinicius Medeiros, coordinator of the Legião group — the club’s second-largest political force. Meanwhile, the name to run for president of the Deliberative Council remains open and is the subject of internal negotiations.

Electoral Strategy and Timeline

The coalition’s planning prioritizes the race for the 100 seats on the Deliberative Council in the November election before officially announcing the full Executive slate:

Launch of the DC Slates: The list of candidates for the Deliberative Council will be made official in early October, respecting the bylaw deadline of the 15th of that month.

Government Plan: Prepared by candidate Adilson Alves Martins — a businessman in the environmental sustainability sector — the platform is in its final stage of adjustments and will be presented publicly in October.

Executive Launch: The Executive Board slate will be presented later, after the consensus candidate for the presidency of the DC is defined.

Risks and Council Mapping

Internally, the leadership of the “New Alliance” acknowledges the risk of opposition growth in the Deliberative Council, which could intensify the race for the club presidency:

Alert in the Council: The incumbents’ attention is focused on the Somos São Paulo (SSP) and Participação groups, which together currently total 35 council members.

Loss Projections: Internal sources estimate that both groups could lose up to 20 seats in the social vote.

Critical Scenario: If those seats shift directly to the opposition without a compensating vote gain in the coalition’s other three groups (Vanguarda, Legião, and Sempre Tricolor), the internal projection points to a victory for the opposition group (MPG) in the presidential election.

The Deliberative Council currently has 252 members, 152 lifetime and 100 elected. Of that total, 133 belong to incumbent groups, 101 are part of the opposition, and 14 are independents. Four other council members, three lifetime and one elected, do not vote.

Among the incumbent groups, Legião has 38 council members (16 lifetime and 22 elected); Somos SPFC, 30 (10 and 20); Participação, 29 (12 and 17); Sempre Tricolor, 20 (seven and 13); and Vanguarda, 16 (15 and one).

In the opposition, Salve o Tricolor Paulista is the largest group, with 47 council members (37 lifetime and ten elected). Novo São Paulo has 28 (17 and 11); Força SP, 23 (18 and five); and Força-Super, three, all lifetime members.

The Opposition

After Carlos Sadi’s downfall due to prejudiced remarks in an interview, São Paulo’s opposition is close to finalizing the name of Eduardo Alfano as the vice-presidential candidate on the ticket that will carry the name of Marcelinho Portugal Gouvêa in the next elections for club president, scheduled for December.

According to what AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR learned, Alfano’s name was suggested by consensus among the political groups of the so-called “core opposition” (which has opposed the administration since the days of Julio Casares) and has the backing of Olten Ayres de Abreu, president of the Deliberative Council and one of the main guarantors of Marcelinho’s campaign (Sadi belonged to his political group).

Alfano recently became known to the fans for having chaired the committee that drafted the bylaw reform, but he is an old familiar face in the halls of Morumbi. During Juvenal Juvêncio’s fourth and final term, he was director of international relations and vice president of communications and marketing, when he worked alongside... Julio Casares.

Despite his résumé, however, Alfano has always been more aligned with the opposition than with the incumbents. In 2014, for example, close to Marco Aurélio Cunha, even while serving as one of Juvenal’s directors, he supported Kalil Rocha Abdalla in the election that ended with Carlos Miguel Aidar victorious. The following year, he was approached by the then-president to take over professional football in place of Ataíde Gil Guerreiro, but turned down the offer due to disagreements with the administration.

With a measured profile and respected internally on the Council, Alfano was frequently invited to hold positions in the administrations that followed, under Carlos Augusto Barros e Silva, known as Leco, and Casares. In May, speaking to Globo Esporte, he said he was in favor of a SAF at Tricolor. Not surprisingly, the proposals to make the Bylaws more flexible in the defeated reform — which allowed greater ease for studies on implementing the model at the club — were his.

The formal announcement of Alfano’s name is expected to be made in the coming days, the report found.

Slate Structure and Division of Positions

With Alfano joining the slate, the distribution of candidacies for the club’s collegiate bodies by position would be structured as follows:

Executive Board Presidency: Marcelinho Portugal Gouvêa

Executive Vice Presidency: Eduardo Alfano

Deliberative Council Presidency: Fábio Mariz

Deliberative Council Vice Presidency: Caio Forjaz

Nominations to the Board of Administration: Flávio Marques and Daurio Speranzini

The unification of the opposition groups puts an end to the uncertainty caused by Rogério Caboclo’s launched and failed pre-candidacy and creates a cohesive opposition bloc. The presence of names such as Fábio Mariz and Caio Forjaz on the Deliberative Council slate, together with the nominations of Flávio Marques and Daurio Speranzini for the Board of Administration, signals a strategic move to ensure governance and representation in Morumbi’s main centers of decision-making.

With the slate formalized, the opposition now turns its focus to winning votes among the 260 members of the Deliberative Council (160 lifetime and 100 elected), while awaiting the outcome of the Bylaw Reform votes to define the campaign’s final guidelines.

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