Corporate Tools after the TPO Ban: How Brazil’s SAF Framework May Enable Lawful Financing for Player Acquisition and Result Distribution - By André RIBEIRO

Abstract

The prohibition of Third-Party Ownership (TPO) and Third-Party Influence (TPI) under Articles 18ter and 18bis of FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) dismantled an entire financing model that had long sustained Brazilian football. Despite its flaws, TPO provided risk-bearing capital for player acquisition in an ecosystem of chronic liquidity shortages. The 2015 ban created a vacuum that the domestic financial system could not fill. Law no. 14.193/2021 (SAF Law) sought to replace informal, cloudy funding channels with transparent corporate instruments. The Sociedade Anônima do Futebol (SAF) structure provides clubs with access to equity and debt markets through mechanisms such as the...

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