ECONOMIC-FINANCIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL RESTRUCTURING OF SANTA CATARINA FOOTBALL: THE CASE OF FIGUEIRENSE FUTEBOL CLUBE

Abstract

Football represents one of the most popular sports in the world with wide possibilities for economic exploitation. Therefore, its production chain involves regulatory bodies (federations, FIFA), suppliers, media groups, entrepreneurs and agents, as well as fans-consumers. From the 1970s onwards, there was a growth in business associated with football as the media developed, football transfers increased and companies invested in sports marketing. In this sense, there are several possibilities for research on football, including business models (franchises, licensing, outsourcing, for example); relations between football clubs, investors, entrepreneurs and financial institutions; the role of technology for new ways of cheering (digital media, own channels, streaming platforms); player transfer flows, the implementation of Sociedad Anônimas de Futebol (SAF) in Brazil, among others. The latter, a law approved in 2021, represents a new possibility for the reorganization of Brazilian clubs, many of them plagued by debts and histories of mismanagement. Therefore, this text aimed to present and discuss the stages of administrative and economic-financial restructuring of Figueirense F.C., from Santa Catarina. Three distinct and complementary phases were identified for the changes in the management of the Santa Catarina club. The first, still in the late 1990s, led to the creation of Figueirense Participações e Gestão Desportiva S.A. according to the Pelé Law guidelines that provided for the conversion of clubs into companies. Subsequently, Figueirense Futebol Clube Ltda was created. with the intention of attracting investors in the market. In this case, Elephant Participações Societárias S/A., a company managed by Cláudio César Vernalha Abreu de Oliveira, obtained control over 95% of its capital, while another 5% of the shares remained with Figueirense F.C, that is, the association. Without much success and with several problems that even led to the club’s descent to the third division of the Brazilian Championship, the partnership came to an end. In the last stage, the formation of Figueirense F.C. SAF, which, among others, represents the return of managers from Figueirense Participações e Gestão Desportiva S.A. With its particularities regarding the organization of management and results achieved, it is noted that these different processes made the Florianopolitan club a different case. The methodological basis of the research was based on an exploratory and empirical-analytical approach with a survey of bibliographic and documentary material. The main sources of research were theses and publications on the subject, as well as the websites of Figueirense F.C. and sports consulting companies.