Bap and Zico head to Brasília to help Flamengo dodge million-pound losses

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Coluna do Fla

·24 de febrero de 2026

Bap and Zico head to Brasília to help Flamengo dodge million-pound losses

Flamengo is One of the Leaders of the Movement to Reverse Tax Penalties on Associative Clubs

The president of Flamengo, Luiz Eduardo Baptista, was in Brasília alongside Zico this Tuesday (24) to defend associative clubs. The goal is to seek the reversal of the tax penalty imposed on entities that support Olympic sports in the country. The Rubro-Negro believes it is suffering million-dollar losses with the situation as it stands.

— I am convinced that the Legal Framework was not designed to create inequality between associative clubs and SAFs. SAFs emerged later, and the presidential veto ended up producing an unintended effect: it put associative clubs at a tax disadvantage. This reverses the logic of the system, since non-profit entities should never be taxed more than structures created for profit —, stated president Bap in a recent interview with FlamengoTV.

After the meeting at the Sports Commission, sector representatives took part in a meeting with the government leader in Congress, Randolfe Rodrigues, and with the opposition leader in the Senate. On that occasion, an agreement was signaled for a vote to overturn the veto, with the presentation of a Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) aimed at guaranteeing tax immunity for sports activities carried out by non-profit entities.

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WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

Following this, Zico, Bap, and representatives from the Brazilian Olympic Committee, the Brazilian Club Committee, and the National Confederation of Clubs were received by the Minister of the Secretariat for Institutional Relations of the Presidency of the Republic, Gleisi Hoffmann. The licensed deputy listened to the reports and made a promise. She assured that she would take the matter to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, emphasizing that the federal government is a supporter of Brazilian sports.

According to Flamengo, the objective of the movement is to guarantee legal security and financial sustainability to clubs that train athletes. This way, it will be possible to maintain permanent social projects and reinvest all resources within the country. For this purpose, Mengo launched a campaign called ‘Friend of Sport’.

WHAT IS THE MILLION-DOLLAR AMOUNT, AFTER ALL?

Thus, starting in 2027, Flamengo, as an associative club, will face a higher tax burden (estimated at up to 15.5% of revenue) compared to the 6% for SAFs. This will result in an increase in costs of about R$ 60 million. Therefore, the club is seeking to reverse this inequality to avoid impacts on Olympic sports.

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