At CBF, Federal Government defends stoppage of the Brazilian Championship after floods in RS

Amid the tragedy caused by the rains in Rio Grande do Sul, the Federal Government defends the suspension of all football competitions in the country. Minister of Sports, André Fufuca (PP-MA) revealed that he is making a move with the CBF to suspend the matches.

The suspension of matches would be in all divisions of national football, both men’s and women’s, in addition to grassroots competitions.

“In view of the scenario of public calamity and the severe consequences of the floods for the population of Rio Grande do Sul, we will defend with the CBF the temporary suspension of the Brazilian Men’s and Women’s Football Championships”, said Fufuca, in an interview with ESPN.

Postponement of games

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) confirmed, last Tuesday (7), the postponement of all matches involving clubs from Rio Grande do Sul across all national competitions, including three of the four divisions of the Brazilian Championship for men, women and Under-20s, in addition to the Brazilian Cup.

The decision was made due to the effects of heavy rains hitting Rio Grande do Sul, including flooding in several cities and damage caused to stadiums, training centers and Salgado Filho International Airport, in Porto Alegre.

Such as Itatiaia revealed, the boards of Inter and Grêmio asked for help to other clubs to pressure the CBF to completely postpone the competition. There was, however, no unanimity among the directors on the matter. The only one to speak publicly in favor of this was the Atlético president, Sérgio Coelho. In total, three rounds of Series A of the Brazilian Championship will be affected.

The CBF consulted all Series A club presidents. There was no consensus on the total suspension of the competition. The problem is that the games will be rescheduled for FIFA Dates, when players are called up for national teams. With the partial stoppage, only for the Gauchos, not all teams will be affected by absences in the replacement of these clashes that will be postponed.

There was a suggestion from the CBF that Inter, Grêmio and Juventude train and play in another state, the priority option given was Curitiba, in Paraná, but the three clubs rejected it. They informed that their players could not stay away from their homes and families amid the tragedy, and also that there would be a technical disadvantage in playing as home team on neutral fields.

The CBF also postponed matches for Ypiranga, São José and Caxias, for Series C, and for Novo Hamburgo, Avenida and Brasil de Pelotas for Series D. This already happened last weekend.

Number of deaths increases

The number of deaths due to the rains in Rio Grande do Sul reached 107, according to the latest Civil Defense bulletin, released this Thursday afternoon (9). According to the agency, 136 people are missing and 374 injured.

In the 428 affected municipalities, there are 67,563 people in shelters, 165,112 homeless and, in total, 1,482,006 people were affected by the floods.

Among the 107 dead, 89 have already been identified. Civil Defense is still seeking to identify the other 18 bodies found.