November 26 – Leila Pereira has been re-elected as president of Brazilian giants Palmeiras for a second three-year term.
She convincingly defeated Savério Orlandi and his ‘Palmeiras is my life’ group with 2,295 votes against 858 from a total of 3,183.
Pereira will begin her new mandate on December 15 with Maria Teresa Bellangero, Paulo Buosi, Everaldo Coelho and Márcio Martin serving as vice presidents. She first became president in 2021 after years of involvement at the club. In the past, she has faced criticism that Crefisa, a company owned by her husband, used their sponsorship to influence her election.
“This impressive vote total, with 72% of the votes, is the result of the work we have done over the last three years,” said Pereira.
“It is a recognition from the members, a ratification of everything we have done well for the club and our football. The challenge is to overcome these three years, which have been very successful, and to continue to value our club. It is to do everything that the members expect from a president and to surpass what we did in the first term.”
In a two-horse race with Botafogo, Palmeiras moved to the top of the table last weekend after the Rio club dropped points against Vitoria in a 1-1 draw. On Tuesday, the two teams meet in Sao Paulo in what could be the league decider.
Looking forward to the 2025 season and emphasising that she wants to keep manager Abel Ferreira at the club, Pereira said: “There won’t be [signing a star]. For me, the great figures of Palmeiras are with us, this is our squad that is very competitive, that has been with us for some time, very successful, it’s obvious that we are planning signings for next year, but nothing bombastic, Palmeiras doesn’t work like that. I don’t believe that one athlete can solve the issue of winning titles. Football is a collective thing. Our great star is our squad. That’s why I don’t like to idolize anyone at all. If you idolize one, the others say: ‘OK, handsome, go out there and play alone’. That doesn’t exist in football.”
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