Brazilian football has "lurched into a new crisis with as many
as 50% of current professional players and officials unpaid," according to Ricardo Setyon of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. Estimates
say that the "wage crisis has hit up to 90% of the professional clubs in
the country." The cash crisis "runs deep with not just players but
coaches, technical and medical staff, banks, and multiple suppliers all
owed money -- with 80% of professional clubs in Brazil now on high
financial alert, with many close to bankruptcy." The heart of
problem "lies in the structure of clubs as 'Entities without Benefit
Aim.'" This has resulted in "control of the clubs by fans, often rich and
famous ones, but no imposition of a professional management structure or
an aggressive commercial plan." This can be seen in the way salaries in Brazil have "spiraled in the last 10 years to the levels of most European clubs." Cutbacks were "inevitable and the first visible sign was the withdrawal
by the Brazilian federation of goal line referees" in a bid to save
€700,000 ($870,900) in the '15 season (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 11/23).
