Brazilian Football Confederation
The governing body of association football in Brazil, responsible for national teams and major domestic competitions.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
The Brazilian Football Confederation, commonly known as the CBF, is the national governing body for association football in Brazil. It administers the sport at the national level, represents Brazil within the international football system, and manages the country's men's and women's national teams, including senior, youth and beach-football structures where applicable. The organization is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro and owns the Granja Comary training complex in Teresópolis, one of the principal preparation centers for Brazil's national teams. The institution's origins date to 8 June 1914, when football organizations from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo created the Federação Brasileira de Sports. The organization was renamed the Confederação Brasileira de Desportos in 1916. During much of the twentieth century, the CBD administered football alongside several other sports. Its football responsibilities were separated into a dedicated confederation in 1979, following international governance requirements that national football bodies focus exclusively on football. The resulting organization became the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol, or CBF. The CBF organizes or oversees Brazil's principal national club competitions. These include the Campeonato Brasileiro, the country's national league system, and the Copa do Brasil, a nationwide knockout tournament introduced in 1989. It also established national women's competitions, launching the women's Copa do Brasil in 2007 and the women's Campeonato Brasileiro in 2013. Through these competitions, the confederation sets regulations, coordinates participating clubs and state federations, appoints competition structures and maintains the national football calendar. The CBF's international profile is closely associated with the Brazil men's national team, which won the FIFA World Cup in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. The confederation also administers the Brazil women's national team, which reached the final of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, as well as Brazilian youth teams. The organization's sporting history includes periods of major success alongside recurring disputes over competition formats, administration, commercial arrangements and leadership conduct. Ricardo Teixeira's presidency from 1989 to 2012 was particularly consequential. It combined strong competitive results, including World Cup and Copa América victories, with expanded commercial exploitation of the national team's image and sponsorship inventory. It was also marked by controversies involving governance, commercial contracts and allegations of corruption. Later administrations faced further legal and ethical scrutiny. José Maria Marin was arrested in 2015 in connection with an international football corruption investigation, Marco Polo Del Nero was later banned from football by FIFA, and Rogério Caboclo was removed following allegations of sexual and moral harassment. Ednaldo Rodrigues led the organization until his removal in May 2025, after which Samir Xaud became president according to the supplied reference material. The CBF is not a conventional commercial brand or publicly traded company. It is an autonomous sports-governing institution whose authority derives from Brazilian football structures and its relationship with FIFA and the South American Football Confederation. Its economic activity includes competition administration, sponsorship, broadcasting and commercial licensing, but its central role is regulatory and representative rather than the sale of consumer goods. The confederation reported a 2024 budget of R$1.5 billion and projected R$2.25 billion for 2025, figures that should be understood as organizational budget disclosures rather than revenue or market capitalization.
History
The CBF developed from a series of competing and overlapping football and sports organizations created in the early twentieth century. On 8 June 1914, the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Athletic Sports League and the São Paulo Athletic Sports Association established the Federação Brasileira de Sports. A rival São Paulo organization created the Brazilian Football Federation in March 1915, producing competing claims to national football authority. The need for a single representative body became urgent in 1916, when Argentina prepared to host the first South American football championship, now recognized as the Copa América. Brazil needed an institution capable of representing the country internationally. On 19 June 1916, Foreign Minister Lauro Müller brought representatives of the competing federations together. Their negotiations produced an agreement to merge the existing structures and establish the Confederação Brasileira de Desportos. The agreement was signed on 21 June 1916. For most of the following decades, the CBD was a multisport organization. It administered football but also represented and promoted other sports practiced in Brazil. This arrangement eventually conflicted with the international movement toward specialized national football associations. In 1979, following a FIFA requirement that national football entities be dedicated solely to football, the football administration separated from the wider CBD. The modern CBF was established on 24 September 1979. The early CBF period included instability in domestic competition administration. Giulite Coutinho presided during the transition into the 1980s, when Brazil participated in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups under coach Telê Santana. Brazil was eliminated by Italy in the 1982 second round and by France on penalties in the 1986 quarterfinals. Octavio Pinto Guimarães then led the confederation during a financial crisis that prevented the CBF from organizing the 1987 Campeonato Brasileiro. The Copa União, organized by the Clube dos 13, filled the gap but generated continuing disputes. The national championship returned to a more conventional organization in 1988, when Bahia won the competition. Ricardo Teixeira became president on 16 January 1989 and remained in the position for 23 years. His administration introduced the Copa do Brasil in 1989, providing a national knockout competition modeled on established cup formats. League administration remained contentious. The Campeonato Brasileiro experienced repeated changes to its regulations, including expansion to 32 teams in 1993, the annulment of relegation in 1996 and a controversial relegation arrangement in 1999. Legal disputes surrounding the competition contributed to the creation of the Copa João Havelange in 2000, a 116-team tournament that concluded in January 2001. A more stable league structure followed, with a round-robin format introduced in 2003. On the field, the Teixeira era coincided with major successes. Brazil won the 1994 World Cup in the United States by defeating Italy in a penalty shootout and won the 2002 World Cup after beating Germany. The men's team also won Copa América titles in 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004 and 2007. The CBF increasingly commercialized the national team, moving from a small sponsorship base to a larger portfolio of commercial partnerships. That expansion brought financial resources and global visibility but also intensified scrutiny of contracts, governance and conflicts of interest. Controversies during Teixeira's tenure included the treatment of undeclared items associated with the 1994 World Cup victory and a disputed Nike agreement in 1996. Teixeira resigned on 12 March 2012, citing health reasons, amid continuing controversy. José Maria Marin succeeded him and was president during the 2014 World Cup hosted in Brazil. The tournament ended with Brazil's 7–1 semifinal defeat by Germany. Marin was succeeded by Marco Polo Del Nero in April 2015. Marin's arrest in Switzerland in May 2015 formed part of the international football corruption investigations of that period. Del Nero left the CBF presidency in December 2017 and was subsequently banned from football by FIFA in 2018. Antônio Carlos Nunes Lima, popularly known as Coronel Nunes, headed the organization from 2017 to 2021. Rogério Caboclo followed but was removed after allegations of sexual and moral harassment. Ednaldo Rodrigues subsequently became president and remained in office until his removal on 15 May 2025, when the supplied reference material states that he was removed after falsifying a signature. Samir Xaud then succeeded him. The CBF also expanded its institutional attention to women's football. It announced a women's cup and league structure in 2007, launched the women's Copa do Brasil that year and established the women's Campeonato Brasileiro in 2013. The confederation's responsibilities now span national-team management, professional and grassroots competition governance, domestic tournament administration, commercial rights, technical development and Brazil's representation in international football.
- 2025
Samir Xaud becomes president
[1]Samir Xaud succeeded Ednaldo Rodrigues after Rodrigues's removal from office.
- 2014
Brazil hosts the FIFA World Cup
[1]Brazil hosted the FIFA World Cup, with the CBF serving as the country's football authority during the tournament.
- 2013
Women's Campeonato Brasileiro launched
[1]A national women's league was added to the CBF's competition structure.
- 2007
Women's Copa do Brasil launched
[1]The CBF established a national women's cup competition.
- 2002
Brazil wins its fifth World Cup
[1]Brazil defeated Germany to claim the men's FIFA World Cup.
- 1994
Brazil wins the World Cup
[1]Brazil defeated Italy on penalties in the United States to win its fourth men's FIFA World Cup.
- 1989
Copa do Brasil introduced
[1]The CBF introduced a nationwide knockout cup competition.
- 1979
Football administration becomes the CBF
[1]The football division separated from the multisport CBD and became the Brazilian Football Confederation on 24 September.
- 1916
CBD created
[1]Competing football bodies agreed to merge and establish the Confederação Brasileira de Desportos, which represented Brazilian sport and football.
- 1914
Brazilian sports federation founded
[1]The Federação Brasileira de Sports was founded on 8 June by football organizations from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Products and positioning
Brazil's central football-governing institution and the institutional custodian of the Brazil national teams and major national competitions.
Domestic league competition
Campeonato Brasileiro
Brazil's principal national league competition, administered within the CBF's domestic football framework. Its format changed repeatedly during the late twentieth century, but a round-robin structure was introduced in 2003 and became the basis of the modern competition.
Domestic cup competition · 1989
Copa do Brasil
A nationwide knockout tournament introduced by the CBF in 1989. It provides clubs from across Brazil with a national cup pathway and operates alongside the Campeonato Brasileiro.
National-team programs
Brazil national football teams
The CBF manages Brazil's senior men's and women's teams and its youth national teams. The men's side is one of international football's most successful national teams, while the women's program has competed at the highest global level.
Women's domestic cup competition · 2007
Women's Copa do Brasil
A national women's cup competition created as part of the CBF's effort to build a more formal domestic structure for women's football.
Women's domestic league competition · 2013
Campeonato Brasileiro Feminino
The CBF's national women's league, launched in 2013 to provide a nationwide elite competition for Brazilian women's clubs.
Training facility
Granja Comary
A CBF-owned training center in Teresópolis, Rio de Janeiro state, used as a preparation and concentration base for Brazil's national teams.
Controversies
2025
Removal of Ednaldo Rodrigues
Rodrigues was removed from the presidency after an allegation that a signature had been falsified, according to the supplied reference material.
2021
Rogério Caboclo harassment allegations
Caboclo was removed from leadership following allegations of sexual and moral harassment.
2018
Marco Polo Del Nero banned by FIFA
After leaving the CBF presidency, Del Nero was banned from football by FIFA.
2015
José Maria Marin arrested
Marin was arrested in Switzerland with other football officials in an international corruption investigation.
1996
Controversy surrounding the Nike agreement
A commercial agreement between the CBF and Nike became a major source of controversy during Ricardo Teixeira's presidency and contributed to scrutiny of the confederation's commercial governance.
1994
Undeclared items controversy after the World Cup
Teixeira faced controversy involving the bringing of undeclared items from the United States after Brazil's 1994 World Cup victory.
Brand decisions
2025
Projected organizational budgetStrategyBackground
The CBF published a forward financial projection for its football administration.
Action taken
The confederation projected a budget of R$2.25 billion for 2025.
Aftermath
The projection represented an increase over the reported 2024 budget, although it is not equivalent to reported sales or profit.
Projected budget. R$1.5 billion → R$2.25 billion (2025 projection compared with 2024 reported budget)
2024
Reported national football budgetStrategyBackground
The CBF reported the scale of its financial planning for national teams, competitions and football administration.
Action taken
The confederation reported a budget of R$1.5 billion for 2024.
Aftermath
The figure illustrates the financial scale of Brazil's national football governing institution.
Reported budget. R$1.5 billion (2024)
2007
Creation of national women's competitionsProduct launchBackground
Pressure from FIFA and the limited structure of women's football encouraged the CBF to expand national competition opportunities.
Action taken
The confederation launched the women's Copa do Brasil and announced a broader women's competition framework.
Aftermath
The initiative was followed by the launch of the women's Campeonato Brasileiro in 2013.
2003
Round-robin Campeonato Brasileiro formatGeneration changeBackground
Repeated changes to league regulations and disputes over relegation had made the national championship unstable.
Action taken
The CBF introduced a round-robin model for the Campeonato Brasileiro.
Aftermath
The format provided a more stable basis for the modern national league.
1989
Launch of the Copa do BrasilProduct launchBackground
Brazil needed a national knockout competition alongside its league structure.
Action taken
The CBF created the Copa do Brasil as a nationwide cup tournament.
Aftermath
The competition became one of the CBF's principal domestic football properties.
1979
Separate football from the multisport confederationStrategyBackground
International football governance required national football entities to focus exclusively on football rather than administer several Olympic sports.
Action taken
The football administration separated from the CBD and adopted the CBF identity.
Aftermath
The CBF became Brazil's dedicated national football authority.
Sources2 sources
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