Statute reform: revised draft allows FT vote in 2026 and eases SAF process | OneFootball

During last December, the Corinthians Deliberative Council (CD) held the first four of a total of ten public hearings scheduled to discuss the draft proposal for the club's statute reform, aiming to improve the text before its deliberation in the body and subsequent consideration in a general assembly of members. The meetings, held at Parque São Jorge and Neo Química Arena, brought together councilors, members, fans, and media representatives.

With the year's end, the schedule of public hearings was temporarily suspended, with a resumption planned for the 21st. During this interval, the Statute Reform Committee dedicated itself to reviewing the draft proposal, incorporating various suggestions presented in the first four meetings, resulting in significant changes in key topics of the text, such as voting rights for members of the Fiel Torcedor (FT) program and the statutory procedure for deliberation and possible voting on the establishment of a SAF at Corinthians.

Photo: José Manoel Idalgo/Agência Corinthians

FT Voting Rights Guaranteed

Regarding the Fiel Torcedor vote, the original draft proposal presented three alternative versions for Article 21, which governs the matter. Two of them provided for granting voting rights to program members, with variations on the monthly contribution amount and the requirement to acquire a membership title, while the third maintained the prohibition of FT voting. However, this last proposal was rejected in the public hearing on the topic.

Thus, it was agreed that the draft proposal would no longer consider the exclusion of voting rights for Fiel Torcedor, leaving only two alternative versions. Both establish that a fan associated with the program acquires voting rights after four years of regular contributions to the FT, as well as paying, for the same period, a special fee equivalent to one-third of the monthly membership contribution of Parque São Jorge.

Other similarities between the two alternative proposals include the fact that the Fiel Torcedor member can vote exclusively for president and vice-presidents, without the right to access Parque São Jorge facilities, in line with the suggestion presented by organized fan groups on the topic. However, there is a fundamental difference between the versions: the possibility of FT voting in this year's elections.

The idea of expanding the Corinthians electoral college for 2026 was widely debated in the public hearing on the subject and was accepted by the Statute Reform Committee. According to the second version of Article 21 in the revised draft proposal, anyone who has been a compliant FT member for at least four years can vote in the next elections, without any extra cost.

The draft proposal does not mention whether FT members for less than four years would have any alternative to access this benefit. According to an investigation by Central do Timão, this issue is still under internal debate and may be discussed again before the draft proposal is finalized.

The investigation also revealed that a study is being commissioned internally to the Corinthians IT department to measure the logistical and administrative impact of this electoral opening in this year's elections, i.e., how many FT members could effectively participate in the next election at Timão if the benefit is approved for those compliant for four years.

SAF Procedure Relaxed

The procedure for discussing and potentially approving a SAF at Corinthians also underwent modifications, being relaxed concerning the characteristics of the models that could be implemented at the club. Initially, the draft proposal only allowed the club to approve a SAF where at least 51% of the shares remained with the associative club, a measure that could theoretically restrict potential investors.

However, after debates on the topic in a hearing, which included the presence of the SAFiel project creators, who intend to manage Corinthians football through a SAF, raising at least R$ 1.6 billion in market shares, the text was modified and now proposes two alternative versions.

The first alternative maintains the need for institutional control by the associative club if a SAF is approved, but notes that a shareholders' agreement may deliberate on the extent of this control within the society. The second option only requires Corinthians to maintain at least 10% of the voting capital in a potential SAF, in line with the SAF law (14.193/2021) in its Article 2.

Other changes were made to Article 45, adjusting the statutory procedure on the topic. Now, the draft proposal grants Corinthians the autonomy to choose the companies responsible for independent auditing and due diligence, essential analyses for determining the club's market value. It also explicitly states that these analyses belong to the club once completed.

Furthermore, the draft proposal requires that, in SAF deliberations, both the Deliberative Council (CD) meetings and the General Assembly convocations must have 50% of members and voting rights members present to be valid. This issue was suggested during the December public hearing to ensure the process's legitimacy.

Finally, the text maintained the procedural requirement that includes a non-binding opinion from the Advisory Council (Cori) and approval by 2/3 of the votes in the CD and GA for effective approval of a SAF at Corinthians, but now requires the Deliberative Council to conduct this procedure within a regulation with defined deadlines. Additionally, it determined that the costs of the studies and analyses necessary to discuss a potential SAF proposal should be borne by the investors sponsoring such a proposal.

Debates Continue

Starting on the 21st, public hearings will resume at Parque São Jorge to conclude debates on the draft proposal. In total, six more meetings are planned, expected to extend until early February. Subsequently, the Statute Reform Committee will begin drafting the final version of the text, which will then formally constitute a project.

The Deliberative Council's schedule anticipates that the final text analysis will occur in February and that, in March, the document, if approved, will be forwarded to the General Assembly, where members will deliberate on its approval or rejection. If this timeline is met, the elections scheduled for the end of the year will already take place under the new statute.

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