Brazil’s soccer clubs face major financial difficulties

Insight

While soccer remains the world’s most-popular sport, in recent years it’s faced a crisis. Brazil, the country that suffered a crushing defeat in last year’s World Cup, now faces another blow: debt. CCTV-America’s Lucrecia Franco reported this story from Rio de Janeiro.

Fans across Brazil were shocked when Brazil lost 7-1 in the semifinals against Germany in what was the worst World Cup defeats ever for the host nation. A nightmare that hasn’t ended.

Just nearly seven months after the humiliating loss, Brazil’s sport faced another crisis with most of the country’s professional clubs on high financial alert.

Veteran football columnist Fernando Calazans said the country’s football has been declining technically and financially for years, mainly sue to mismanagement.

“They had a budget to follow, but no, they created labor debts, debts with the players, fiscal debts, that now total about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars collectively,” Calazans said.

At least 17 of the 20 teams in the top division struggled to pay players last year — some still are — and Rio de Janeiro soccer club Botafogo was one of them. Players acknowledged the need for change both on and off the pitch.

“I think Brazilian football is going through a delicate moment, financially after the World Cup. It is hard to blame someone,” Botafogo player Thiago Carleto said. “Brazilian players, however, need to know of their importance. We are a world power — with a good head and management, we can shine.”

Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff vetoed a plan to help bail out indebted soccer clubs and said the government will begin talks to find an alternative to modernize the country’s most popular sport.

“I don’t want to, I wouldn’t want to be very pessimistic, but we need to start from zero,” Calazans said.


Kris Voakes of Goal.com discusses financial problems in Brazilian soccer

CCTV America interviewed Kris Voakes, an international soccer correspondent Goal.com about the financial problems facing Brazilian soccer clubs.