The president of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, Rodolfo Landim, held a press conference this Sunday morning where he provided clarification on the tragedy that occurred at the George Helal Training Center on February 11th, which claimed the lives of 10 young athletes from the youth divisions. Alongside CEO Reinaldo Belloti and General Vice President Rodrigo Dunshee de Abranches, Rodolfo Landim spoke to reporters for over an hour, explaining the compensation process for the families, discussing the amounts disclosed, and repeatedly demonstrating that the club is working diligently to resolve the case in the best possible way for the families. 

"Since the tragedy occurred, the worst in 123 years, I've been in contact with the families on the first day and in the following days. When Reinaldo made his statement, I was meeting with the families. It was careful and caring work, with the participation of psychologists, doctors, and all the professionals who had a direct relationship with the families. And with enormous respect and consideration for them. It's a message I'm delivering from a 123-year-old institution, and you can be sure that Flamengo is taking great care of the victims' families," he said at the beginning of the press conference.

The manner in which negotiations will be conducted was also addressed in the interview. Rodolfo Landim explained that the club requested, from the outset, that the Public Defender's Office mediate the process to expedite the negotiations and reach a consensus. 

"We spoke with the public defender's office because we understood that they should assist the families precisely to avoid certain situations that occurred. Even though we didn't reach an agreement at that initial stage, I can say that Flamengo has always worked with the interest of caring for each family. We never intended to provide compensation for everyone, but we understand that we need to talk to each family. Each situation is different."

Regarding a controversy that arose this week, Rodolfo Landim explained that the process is being conducted in secret and that, also for the families' safety, he would not discuss the negotiated amounts. He denied that these were the amounts disclosed, stating that Flamengo has always worked with higher figures than previously applied. 

"There's an important aspect. The process is confidential, and regardless, it's important that we don't talk about amounts, especially given the impact this could have on the families' safety. These are high amounts, and they're important given the places where they live. What I can say is that the way they were leaked, the answer is no. They're not those amounts. And we won't be able to go into much detail. Regarding the Public Prosecutor's Office, they need to comment," said the president, who spoke about the amount offered and how it was proposed.

"O What was put forward as the first point was a baseline for discussion. This is something we understand as far above any and all decisions that have ever been made. Flamengo wants to settle with higher values. This doesn't mean that if someone asks me for 10 or 50 times the value of the case law, we have to accept it. We are offering a value much higher than the case law. But it doesn't mean it's the final value."

Regarding future actions, Landim said the tragedy teaches lessons that need to be learned to improve conditions for everyone working at the club. And that the board is already taking action to change everything that was being done incorrectly to prevent further incidents. 

"Every accident like this brings opportunities for improvement. Some have already been mentioned here, regarding the practices that were being adopted, such as increased supervision and other opportunities that we can discuss and improve. It was a fatality. Absolutely. Unfortunately, it happened. And I can't imagine there was anything Flamengo could have done. There are several things we can learn, and we will go through this process. It doesn't end here. We will continue to analyze everything and the causes."

Watch the full press conference