SAFiel unveils project, discusses SAF bid with Corinthians council chief | OneFootball

SAFiel, a group that advocates the implementation of a Football Corporation at Corinthians, held a meeting this Thursday with Leonardo Pantaleão, acting president of the club’s Deliberative Council. The meeting focused on a detailed presentation of the proposal formally submitted by the initiative to Timão at the beginning of June.

According to SAFiel itself, the conversation was used to clarify points of the project, discuss possible adjustments, and begin planning a future presentation of the proposal to the other members of the Deliberative Council. The group’s intention is to broaden the internal debate over the viability of the model suggested for black-and-white football.

Photo: SAFiel/Disclosure

The document delivered to Corinthians provides for an initial fundraising of R$ 2.5 billion, a figure that could reach R$ 3 billion if investor demand exceeds expectations. The allocation of the funds includes reducing the football department’s debt, strengthening sporting investments, structural improvements, expanding governance mechanisms, and supporting the social club.

Under the format presented, all assets and obligations linked to professional football would be transferred to the new company. This would include commercial contracts, broadcasting revenue, players’ economic and registration rights, brands related to the department, and other financial commitments tied to the sport.

The management of these assets would then take place independently from the other areas of Parque São Jorge. Even so, the members’ club would retain a stake in the corporate structure of the future SAF and would remain connected to the project through different institutional mechanisms.

Among the planned counterparts, Corinthians would receive royalties estimated at R$ 600 million over a decade for the use of its brand. The plan also includes expanding commercial agreements to other sports and creating permanent channels of cooperation between the parties.

Another point highlighted in the project is the club’s retention of a so-called golden share. This instrument would guarantee special powers in strategic decisions, including the possibility of vetoing certain measures related to the company’s management.

The proposal also provides for a governance structure made up of different oversight and management bodies, such as a Board of Directors, Fiscal Council, Cultural Council, and Governance Committee.

One of the central aspects defended by SAFiel is the broad distribution of the future company’s capital. The group proposes that voting shares be acquired exclusively by Corinthians supporters, with investments starting at R$ 250 and maximum ownership limits per CPF.

Institutional investors would only be able to participate through non-voting shares, if additional fundraising were needed for the operation.

In addition, the text establishes mechanisms aimed at preserving Corinthians’ historical identity. These include restrictions on changes to elements such as the club’s name, crest, colors, and official symbols.

A reversibility clause was also included. In practice, it would allow Corinthians to regain control of football in specific scenarios, such as failure to comply with obligations considered essential, serious management failures, or the distortion of its institutional identity.

For the operation to be effectively completed, the project would still need to go through several formal stages. These include internal approvals by the club’s statutory bodies, due diligence by an independent company, regulatory reviews, and a final vote by members at a General Assembly.

As it is a non-binding letter of intent, the document does not require either party to conclude the deal. Even so, SAFiel is requesting that the proposal be submitted for analysis by the Corinthians presidency, the Advisory Council, and the Deliberative Council before any eventual deliberation by the members.

As determined by the club’s current bylaws, matters related to investments and structural changes depend on the actions of the executive board, currently headed by Osmar Stabile. Cori, in turn, has an advisory and oversight role, analyzing matters when they are formally submitted by the competent bodies.

The group also released a preliminary schedule for implementing the project. The forecast includes about one year between the possible acceptance of the proposal and the effective start of SAF operations, including audit phases, asset valuation, registration with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), presentations to investors, governance definition, and a vote at the General Assembly.

The letter of intent has an initial validity of 60 days after its signing and may be extended by mutual agreement between the parties or remain in force until the definitive documents are formalized.

In recent days, SAFiel launched a digital platform intended to gather expressions of support from fans for the formal analysis of the proposal. According to figures released by the group, more than 43,000 supporters had already registered by Thursday night, showing interest in the debate over the future management model of Corinthians football.

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