By Samindra Kunti
October 27 – The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) may enforce changes to the domestic football calendar that could threaten the existence of the Primeira Liga, a breakaway tournament.
From 2017 onwards the formats of both the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League, and the Copa Sul-Americana, the South American equivalent of the Europa League, will change. The Copa Libertadores will be expanded to 44 teams.
The new formats will force the CBF to consider a new calendar for Brazil’s domestic game. The Copa do Brasil, the Brazilian Cup, will have to be played in shorter time frame. This may threaten the Primeira Liga, a breakaway competition that was founded last year as clubs grew uneasy over the stewardship of the CBF.
The CBF and the State Federations have always feared the pernicious consequences of a league that may well challenge the long-standing power structure of the Brazilian game. For a long time the State Federations were the CBF’s power base: jointly they organize the state championships, a procession of David-vs-Goliath matches with no real beneficiaries, except power-craving football administrators.
The new structure of South American football may now provide the CBF with the perfect excuse to outsmart the Primeira Liga.
“We will keep the backbone of the calendar,” said CBF director of competitions Manuel Flores. “We won’t change the Brazilian league, the State Championships and the structure of the Brazilian Cup. But all the rest will be re-evaluated, including of course the regional competitions.”
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