FIFA’s Warning to Brazil: New President by 2024 or Face Suspension

FIFA has issued a warning to the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), stating that the country’s national teams and clubs could be suspended from international competitions if a new president is not elected by January 2024 following intervention by the soccer governing body.

In a letter to the CBF, FIFA emphasized that the CBF risks suspension if it swiftly conducts an election to replace Ednaldo Rodrigues as president, who was removed from office along with his appointees by a Rio de Janeiro court on December 7 due to irregularities in his election last year, a ruling upheld by Brazil’s highest courts last week.

The court appointed José Perdiz, the head of Brazil’s top sports court, to organize new elections for the presidency within 30 working days, a move that FIFA has considered to be undue interference, as stated in previous letters to CBF.

Signed by FIFA’s Kenny Jean-Marie and CONMEBOL’s deputy secretary-general, Monserrat Jiménez Garcia, the letter also announced the formation of a commission to discuss the matter in Brazil on January 8.

FIFA, which rejects government and third-party interference in its member associations, warned that Brazil could be excluded from major competitions until the crisis is resolved, emphasizing that any decision affecting CBF, including elections, should not be made until the commission’s mission takes place, under the risk of facing suspension and loss of membership rights.

The document underscored that any irregular interference in member associations “can lead to sanctions as provided for in the FIFA Statutes, including a suspension, and this even if the third-party influence was/is not the fault of the member association concerned.”

Perdiz, in response to FIFA’s letter, regarded it as a positive sign and committed to calling for the elections within the established deadline with transparency and integrity.