Flamengo leads 'Friend of Sport' campaign in defense of associative clubs and Olympic sport

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Flamengo launched the "Friend of Sport" campaign, an institutional mobilization in defense of Brazilian associative clubs and the social role they play in the development of national sport. The initiative aims to raise awareness in the National Congress to overturn Veto No. 8/2026 (Item 10), which kept associative clubs subject to a higher tax burden than that applied to Public Limited Football Companies (SAFs).

With the presidential veto of PLP 108/2024, SAFs (Sociedades Anônimas de Futebol - Football Corporations) now have a fixed tax rate of 6%, while associative clubs, non-profit entities responsible for a much broader sports structure, were maintained under the previous regime, with a significantly higher tax burden of around 11%. This measure ignores structural differences and imposes unequal treatment on distinct legal and social models. 

Unlike SAFs (Sociedades Anônimas de Futebol - Football Corporations), which operate exclusively in football, associative clubs are the foundation of Brazilian Olympic sport. They are the ones that house, train, finance, and maintain thousands of athletes in sports such as judo, volleyball, gymnastics, rowing, swimming, and athletics, among many others. The same resources that sustain professional football are shared with sports projects, grassroots programs, and athlete development. 

The "Friend of Sport" campaign argues that there is no tax justice when this social function is ignored. Equating associative clubs with for-profit companies compromises the sustainability of Olympic sport, reduces investments, affects international competitiveness, and jeopardizes an ecosystem that generates jobs, social inclusion, and sporting results for the country.

In addition to the review of the veto, Flamengo also advocates for the creation of a new legal framework that definitively recognizes the non-profit nature of associative clubs, with differentiated or reduced tax rates compatible with their social and sporting function.

“I am convinced that the Legal Framework was not designed to create inequality between associative clubs and SAFs (Sociedades Anônimas de Futebol, or Public Limited Companies). SAFs emerged later, and the presidential veto ended up producing an unintended effect: it placed associative clubs at a tax disadvantage. This reverses the logic of the system, since non-profit entities should never be taxed more than structures created with the objective of profit,” stated President Bap, in an interview with FlamengoTV.

The mobilization seeks to broaden the public and institutional debate, reinforcing that protecting associative clubs is protecting Brazilian Olympic sport. Being a Friend of Sport means defending those who invest in, train athletes, represent the country, and historically sustain the foundation of national sport.

Be a friend of sport; protecting the clubs is protecting Olympic Brazil.

Be a friend of sport; Olympic sport needs those who care about it.

Be a friend of sports; it's at the club that we learn to compete and to win.

Be a friend of the sport; those who train athletes should not be penalized.