CBF suspends league games as clubs struggle to function following flooding

May 16 – Following pressure from clubs and the Brazilian Ministry of Sports, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has suspended the next two rounds of the league due to severe flooding in the south of the country.

Rio Grande do Sul, one of Brazil’s most important states, remains flooded, authorities said. 149 people died and another 108 are missing.

The two top clubs, Gremio and International, based in Porto Alegre, are struggling to keep playing and the clubs had called for the league to be suspended for a few rounds. This followed a request from Brazilian Sports Minister André Fufuca to suspend all football activities.

While the CBF was hesitant to postpone games due to calendar congestion, the governing body decided overnight – while its president Ednaldo Rodrigues was in Bangkok for the FIFA Congress – to suspend the league for two rounds – the seventh and eighth rounds will be rescheduled.

“We must not forget that sport and society go hand in hand and cannot be separated in such a difficult moment for the Brazilian people,” the CBF said.
Conmebol has also suspended two of its games in Brazil.

Ednaldo Rodrigues said he made the decision on a democratic basis, but told Globo that the CBF was not considering extending the league and the season beyond the expected December 8, citing as the reason that “the calendar in the year 2025 is already very full.”

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