Creator explains changes in the new version of SAFIEL project 2.0 | OneFootball

SAFIEL is a group proposing the professionalization of Corinthians’ management through a Football Corporation based on governance led by market professionals, aligned with current global trends, long-term planning, and transparency. One of its creators, Eduardo Salusse, gave an exclusive interview to Central do Timão and explained the main changes presented in the 2.0 project.

First, he recalled some points of what the previous proposal was like, one of them being the mechanisms for electing the Board of Directors, which would be composed of five members: “There were some changes. I think perhaps the most important was the voting mechanism for choosing Safiel’s main body, which will be the Board of Directors. So, to recap, Safiel is made up of Corinthians, as one of the partners with Corinthians’ assets and debts, and, on the other side, Invasão Fiel, which is a kind of holding company of Corinthians supporters who will be the investors.”

Photo: Reproduction/Central do Timão

“So, Corinthians supporters put in money, which will be raised, Corinthians puts in the football assets, and then a new, healthy company is created, with the assets and the money. This money will be used to deal with the debts, make investments, improve infrastructure, and give Corinthians the conditions to start from scratch. This body, this new company, which is Safiel, will have, as its highest body, a board of directors made up of five professionals.”

Later, the professional detailed who the five people responsible for the Board of Directors will be and how these people will be recruited. He notes that they will have no connection whatsoever with Parque São Jorge, that is, they will not be club members or club board members: “Who are these five professionals? First, they are not people who are Corinthians members, nor Corinthians board members, nor members on the side of the Corinthians investor group. They are market professionals. But who will choose these market professionals? First, a headhunting, recruitment, and selection company is hired, a multinational, a reputable company. The profile is given to it. We need people who have practical experience in the world of sports, of football, who have academic training, who are reputable, in short, who have those attributes that are set out in the bylaws.”

Salusse explained that the headhunting company will be responsible for mapping the required professionals and that they will be evaluated by the Governance Committee, made up of representatives from Corinthians and Invasão Fiel: “This company goes into the market and investigates who the good candidates are and who aren’t, whether they are employed or not, it doesn’t matter. And it brings us a list. We found, with this profile, ten candidates. Hypothetically. These 10 candidates go through a governance committee, which is an internal Safiel body, that will certify whether these 10 candidates meet the requirements of the Bylaws. Whether they have any impediment, whether they have ties to agents, ties to players, ties to another club, to a sports entity, things that make it unfeasible. Oh no, they don’t. So, they have the qualifications required by the Bylaws. Then it’s validated. This committee is made up of representatives from both Corinthians and Invasão Fiel.”

He continued: “Once the 10 candidates are validated. Very well. Then it goes to the Assembly. Who will be the five chosen? All the members, the Corinthians supporters, the investors, will choose those five. People used to say back then: ‘What is the selection criterion? Who is going to choose? Who has more votes? So whoever has more money?’ Money buys more shares and gives more votes. Therefore, these five guys would always be representatives of people with greater purchasing power. We discussed that up to this point, the last time we were here.”

One of the new features of the project is the creation of economic districts, that is, the division of SAFIEL member groups that will buy the shares: “We separated the Corinthians member-supporters into five groups, which we defined as economic districts. So, the first district is made up of members who will buy between one and ten shares. The second district, between eleven and one hundred shares. The third, between one hundred and one and one thousand shares. The fourth, between one thousand and one and ten thousand shares. And the fifth, ten thousand shares and up. And each district will choose. Therefore, I will have a board of directors made up of five professionals chosen by each of these economic districts. In other words, the professional chosen by the district of those who have fewer shares will have the same role on the board as the professional chosen by those who have more shares. So there is a mixed board there. There is a management made up of five representatives from five economic groups of members.”

He went on to give a practical example, mentioning the new role of appointing a CFO, a revenue director who will be tasked with seeking more financial resources: “So, the ten candidates will be voted on. Then District 1, ah, I chose Henrique, great. District 2, the most voted was Henrique too, but Henrique has already been chosen in District 1, so it will be the runner-up, who is Érico. In the third, I chose Érico, Érico has already been chosen here, so it will be the third-place one, and so on, and we form this group here. And this will be the institution’s top body. This body will appoint the CEO, who is the president, this body will appoint the CFO, who is the chief financial officer, and this body will appoint the CRO, who is the chief revenue officer. This role doesn’t exist yet, ah, that’s another new feature.”

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