Grounded: Rodrigues has a different flight plan for CBF

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April 27 – A helicopter and an aeroplane. That’s what the Confederation of Brazilian Football (CBF) is seeking to offload to save €2.4 million (13 million reais) in annual expenses.

To this end, Globo reports, the CBF will convene a general assembly next month. The aircrafts belong to the organisation’s patrimony and their sale is subject to approval from the general assembly.

CBF boss Ednaldo Rodrigues reckons the sale will bring in €9.4 million (50 million reais) as well as remove the running costs of €2.4 million.

“This money has to be reinvested in pitches, training centres, floodlights, improvement in the pitches,” said CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues.

“The CBF doesn’t need planes.”

Last month, Rodrigues, 68, was elected as the new CBF president for a four-year term. He was the only candidate in the elections and received 137 of 141 possible votes. An interim president since last summer, Rodrigues succeeded the disgraced Rogerio Caboclo.

In 2021, Caboclo decided to buy a bigger plane for the CBF. He used €7.5 million of the CBF’s cash to purchase a Legacy 500 aeroplane. It was a remarkable acquisition for a president who was fighting accusations of sexual harassment which would ultimately lead to his exit from the CBF.

After Caboclo’s departure from the apex body of Brazilian football, the CBF hierarchy cancelled the purchase of the new plane as well as the sale of the old one.

Now it looks like they will be grounded indefinitely if Rodrigues’ proposal is passed.

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