Clube dos 13

Clube dos 13, whose name means “Club of the 13,” was a Brazilian football-club association created on July 11, 1987, by representatives of thirteen of the country’s most traditional and powerful clubs. It was formed in a period of disagreement between leading clubs and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), particularly over the organization and commercial management of national competitions. Rather than operating as a football team, league, or conventional commercial brand, the organization functioned as a collective negotiating body and political representative for major clubs. Its central activity was the negotiation of radio and television rights for competitions such as the Campeonato Brasileiro. By acting collectively, the member clubs sought greater bargaining power with broadcasters and a more coordinated position in discussions with the CBF about competition formats, calendars, governance, and the distribution of football revenues. The organization also provided a unified institutional voice for influential clubs associated with several state football structures, including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Minas Gerais, and Bahia. Clube dos 13’s most consequential intervention came in 1987. Dissatisfied with the CBF’s handling of the national championship, the association organized the Copa União independently of the confederation. The tournament was contested by sixteen clubs: the thirteen founding members plus Coritiba, Goiás, and Santa Cruz. Flamengo won the competition, with Internacional as runner-up. The CBF did not initially recognize the Copa União as the official national championship and proposed a playoff arrangement involving the winners and runners-up of its own competition, including Sport Recife and Guarani. Flamengo and Internacional declined the proposed arrangement. The resulting dispute became one of the most enduring controversies in Brazilian football. Sport Recife obtained a judicial declaration recognizing it as the sole 1987 national champion. In 2011, during a period of political conflict within Brazilian football, the CBF briefly recognized Flamengo alongside Sport Recife. Sport challenged that decision, and the courts ordered the CBF to withdraw the joint-recognition declaration. The confederation subsequently reinstated Sport Recife’s status as sole champion in order to comply with the judicial order. The episode illustrated both the influence of Clube dos 13 and the limits of its authority when its independent competition model conflicted with the CBF and the courts. The association also organized the 2000 Copa João Havelange, which served as the national top-flight competition in an exceptional season. The tournament was ratified by the CBF and included 114 teams divided among four modules, with the strongest module providing most of the clubs for the knockout phase. Vasco da Gama defeated São Caetano in the final. The competition was created in the context of legal and administrative disruption surrounding relegation from the previous Brazilian championship, including the dispute involving Gama. Its structure departed from the ordinary promotion-and-relegation framework, making it another example of Clube dos 13’s role in managing national football during institutional instability. By 2007, the association had expanded from its original thirteen clubs to twenty members. Its influence nevertheless weakened as individual clubs increasingly pursued direct commercial relationships with broadcasters. On February 23, 2011, Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense, and Vasco da Gama announced that they would no longer negotiate television rights through the association. Corinthians also announced its departure. The clubs’ decisions were linked to disagreements over the proposed arrangements for broadcasting rights for the 2012–2014 seasons. The departures effectively ended Clube dos 13’s role as the unified negotiating representative of Brazil’s leading clubs, and the organization is generally treated as defunct thereafter.

Clube dos 13 was established on July 11, 1987, by representatives of thirteen traditional Brazilian football clubs. Its creation reflected dissatisfaction with the CBF’s control of national competitions and with the way the interests of the most commercially powerful clubs were represented. The association’s primary purpose was not to replace individual clubs or state federations, but to coordinate them in negotiations with broadcasters and in institutional discussions with the CBF. The association became nationally prominent almost immediately. In 1987, its members organized the Copa União after rejecting the CBF’s arrangements for the national championship. The competition brought together the thirteen founding clubs and three invited teams, Coritiba, Goiás, and Santa Cruz. Flamengo won the tournament and Internacional finished second, but the CBF did not initially accept the event as the official national championship. A proposed playoff involving the Copa União’s leading clubs and the leading teams from the CBF competition was not played. Sport Recife subsequently secured a court ruling recognizing it as the official 1987 national champion, creating a dispute that continued for decades. The 1987 controversy demonstrated the association’s ability to organize a commercially significant competition outside the CBF’s original structure, while also showing that formal recognition remained dependent on the governing body and the courts. In 2011, the CBF briefly recognized Flamengo as a joint champion with Sport Recife, but Sport challenged the move. A federal court ordered the CBF to withdraw the declaration, and the confederation restored Sport Recife’s status as sole champion in compliance with the ruling. Clube dos 13 later played a central role in the unusual 2000 national championship. The Copa João Havelange was organized by the association and ratified by the CBF. It arose after legal and administrative complications surrounding the 1999 Campeonato Brasileiro, including Gama’s successful challenge to its relegation. The replacement competition included 114 teams in four modules, with the Blue Module containing the most prominent clubs and supplying most of the teams for the final knockout stage. Vasco da Gama won the final against São Caetano. The association expanded beyond its original thirteen members and had twenty members by 2007. Its influence was closely tied to the value of collective television-rights negotiations. Over time, however, the largest clubs increasingly viewed direct negotiations as preferable to a common arrangement. In February 2011, Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense, Vasco da Gama, and Corinthians announced departures or cessation of negotiations through Clube dos 13. The decisions concerned the proposed television-rights arrangements for the 2012–2014 seasons and effectively dismantled the organization’s central commercial function. Clube dos 13 is consequently regarded as defunct, although its history remains important to debates about Brazilian football governance, broadcasting economics, competition formats, and the relationship between powerful clubs and the CBF.

• 2011

  Founding clubs abandon collective television-rights negotiations

  [1]Clube dos 13en.wikipedia.org

  Several major clubs, including Corinthians and four prominent Rio de Janeiro clubs, stop using Clube dos 13 as their intermediary for the 2012–2014 television-rights cycle.

• 2007

  Membership reaches twenty clubs

  [1]Clube dos 13en.wikipedia.org

  The association is reported to have expanded from its original thirteen members to twenty.

• 2000

  Copa João Havelange is held

  [1]Clube dos 13en.wikipedia.org

  The association organizes the 2000 national championship, a 114-team competition later ratified by the CBF. Vasco da Gama defeats São Caetano in the final.

• 1987

  Clube dos 13 is founded

  [1]Clube dos 13en.wikipedia.org

  Representatives of thirteen leading Brazilian football clubs establish the association to coordinate their interests and negotiate collectively with broadcasters and the CBF.

• 1987

  Copa União is organized

  [1]Clube dos 13en.wikipedia.org

  Clube dos 13 organizes an independent national competition involving its thirteen founding clubs and three invited teams. Flamengo wins the tournament.

A collective bargaining and representation organization for Brazil’s leading professional football clubs, positioned between its member clubs, broadcasters, and the national football governing body.

• Sports media and commercial representation · 1987

  Broadcasting-rights negotiation

  Clube dos 13’s core service was collective negotiation of radio and television rights for major Brazilian football competitions. It aggregated the commercial interests of member clubs and presented a common negotiating position to broadcasters, rather than having each club bargain independently.

• Football competition · 1987

  Copa União

  The 1987 Copa União was an independently organized national competition involving the thirteen founding members of Clube dos 13 and three invited clubs. Its organization became the center of a long-running dispute over the official Brazilian national championship for 1987.

• Football competition · 2000

  Copa João Havelange

  The 2000 Copa João Havelange was an exceptional national championship organized by Clube dos 13 and ratified by the CBF. It featured 114 teams arranged in four modules and concluded with Vasco da Gama defeating São Caetano.

• 1987

  Dispute over the official 1987 Brazilian championship

  Clube dos 13’s independent Copa União was not initially recognized by the CBF as the official national championship. The resulting conflict involving Flamengo, Internacional, Sport Recife, the CBF, and the courts became one of Brazilian football’s most persistent title-recognition disputes.

  Source

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• 2011

  Continue collective television-rights negotiationsStrategy

  Background

  The association proposed arrangements for broadcasting rights covering the 2012–2014 seasons.

  Action taken

  Clube dos 13 attempted to retain its role as the common intermediary for the leading clubs.

  Aftermath

  Corinthians and four major Rio de Janeiro clubs withdrew from the collective process, substantially weakening the association and ending its effective role.

  Source

• 2000

  Create the Copa João HavelangeOther

  Background

  The 1999 championship was disrupted by legal proceedings, including Gama’s challenge to relegation, making the ordinary competition structure impractical.

  Action taken

  Clube dos 13 organized a replacement national championship with 114 teams divided among four modules.

  Aftermath

  The CBF ratified the competition, which was won by Vasco da Gama after a final against São Caetano.

  Source

• 1987

  Organize a national championship outside the CBF competitionOther

  Background

  The founding clubs were dissatisfied with the CBF’s handling of the national championship and decided to create the Copa União.

  Action taken

  Clube dos 13 organized a sixteen-team competition comprising its thirteen members and three invited clubs.

  Aftermath

  Flamengo won the tournament, but the CBF refused to recognize it as the official national championship, leading to prolonged litigation and institutional conflict.

  Source

1. 1Clube dos 13en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Clube dos 13 official websiteclubedostreze.globo.com