Failure in the World Cup revives friendly fire against Xaud and dispute for power and money in the CBF

Xaud and the CBF denied this, responding that "the directors' private expenses are borne by themselves", but the leak of expenses billed to the confederation showed that someone with access to the entity's accounting was working to undermine the top hat.

As the selection progressed, the problem fell asleep, and Xaud appeared in flashes on the TV broadcast alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

The failure to eliminate the team in the round of 16 revived the specter of friendly fire. The day after Brazil's elimination, the daily Lance! revealed that two international trips made by Xaud's sister on the dates of two of the team's friendlies (against South Korea, in Seoul, and Japan, in Tokyo, in October 2025) were billed by the CBF. Once again the top hat said that in the end it was he who paid, not the confederation.

The newspaper also showed proof that tickets and accommodation for the friends mentioned in Léo Dias' report were paid corporately and that, in one of the cases, the expenses were invoiced by the CBF with the presidency's cost center.

The attempt to fry Xaud, in office for just over a year, is fueled by a complex set of political and economic interests, whose actors are both clear enemies and allies who in the blink of an eye can become executioners - as happened with Xaud's predecessor in office, Ednaldo Rodrigues.

Coming from Roraima, an insignificant state in football, Xaud was elevated to the presidency by the state federations, which have more voting power than the clubs, and by the group that calls the shots today in the CBF, led by lawyer Francisco Schertel Ferreira Mendes, known as Chico Mendes, general director of the IDP (Brazilian Institute of Education, Development and Research) and son of minister Gilmar Mendes, of the Federal Supreme Court, and by Gustavo Dias Henrique, one of the eight vice-presidents of the confederation.

Chico Mendes does not have a position at CBF. He represents the entity on the FIFA Disciplinary Committee and has been, since last December, vice-president of the Mato Grosso Football Federation.

Its power in the entity that manages national football comes from a contract, signed in 2023, between IDP and CBF Academy, the confederation's arm for courses, through which the institute takes care of the entire academic part and keeps 84% of the revenue - the rest goes to the CBF.

In the year it was signed, CBF Academy's revenue was close to R$10 million, but it is estimated that it has grown considerably since then.

Although the contract relates to the CBF Academy, in practice the IDP currently leads the management of the CBF as a whole, having appointed key directors such as the financial (Valdecir de Souza) and legal (André Mattos) directors and vice Gustavo Dias Henrique - the entity's current strongman along with the out-of-position Chico Mendes.

It is a group treated by the old guard as "the Brasília gang", where the IDP headquarters are located.

Last Tuesday (7), two days after being eliminated by Norway, in a game where Brazil was apathetic and technically poor, Gilmar Mendes, founding partner of IDP and father of Chico Mendes, went to X to praise the team and its coach.

“With our participation in the 2026 World Cup over, we are grateful,” wrote the STF minister. "Now, towards 2030, a new cycle begins. Carlo Ancelotti's permanence at the helm of the team gives solidity to this new beginning, and the renewed national team will once again find its greatest strength in the fans."

Gilmar Mendes thanked the 26 players named, "under the competent command of Ancelotti and his technical committee", and made a special mention of the group's most popular player. "And to Neymar, a fair tribute to his career: by representing Brazil in four World Cups (...), he moved us with his talent, category and goals that marked an era. My gratitude for everything he represents for our football, and the certainty that he will continue to enchant fans around the world."

In the X tool that allows readers to add context to certain messages, it was added: "Gilmar Mendes didn't mention it, but he and his son have a great influence on the CBF."

Although the CBF contract with the IDP is already in force, Gilmar did not declare himself prevented from judging actions in the STF relating to the confederation under the Ednaldo Rodrigues administration.

After losing political support in the electoral college that months earlier re-elected him with the biggest vote in the history of the CBF, Ednaldo ended up removed from office by the RJ Court in May 2025, paving the way for the arrival of Xaud.

'BRAZILIA CLASS'

Both allies and opponents say that Chico Mendes wants to preside over the CBF, the question is when. Xaud's term runs until 2029.

Behind the scenes, different versions circulate about the leak of internal CBF data that weaken the current president. One of them states that "the Brasília gang" would be ready to overthrow President Xaud to directly assume power.

Another hypothesis, this one put forward by sources linked to the "Brasília gang", is that the businessman Luiz Estevão, who does business with the CBF (organizes games and bought rights to Série D), would have had some counter interest and would have attacked Xaud through Léo Dias, who was once an employee of his media group (Metrópoles) and with whom he maintains a good relationship.

The characters considered to be potential perpetrators of friendly fire deny authorship of the leaks.

There is still an internal fight, which mixes politics, business and a lot of money, around the creation of a league of clubs to professionalize the management of the national football elite and replace the CBF in organizing the Brazilian Championship.

On this front, the confederation's biggest opponents are the companies SportsMedia and LiveMode. Both are connected to the FFU (Futebol Forte União, formerly Liga Forte União), one of the two groups trying to create the club league (the other is Libra), SportsMedia as an investor and LiveMode as an agency negotiating commercial and TV rights.

In May 2025, Libra and FFU reached an agreement to create a single league, but, after pressure from the CBF on clubs associated with Libra, the latter withdrew from the agreement. Since then, although it officially declares support for a league (as long as it maintains some control over the process), the confederation has been working to defund ongoing initiatives, which are driven by investors from FFU and Libra - Brazilian and foreign billionaire funds.

The dispute is heightened by the fact that LiveMode owns CazéTV, the main opponent of TV Globo, a historic partner of the CBF.

POWER CONDOMINIUM

While "the Brasília gang" reigns, a historic group from the CBF that joined it to bring Xaud to power has been observing the intensification of the skirmishes. It is made up of vice-presidents Flávio Zveiter and Fernando Sarney and director Gustavo Feijó (men's football), among others.

As one football fox describes, they are figures who have always had strength behind the scenes at the CBF, but today they are part of a second echelon - they are in the condominium of power, but they are not the administrators.

A leader who has been part of this condominium for decades warns that, wherever friendly fire comes from to fry Xaud, if the current commander puts his foot down to remain, the federation presidents will side with him and not "the people from Brasília".

According to this source, the continued public praise from these top hats for the Chico Mendes/Gustavo Dias Henrique administration is lip service. In fact, he warns, resentment is growing among federation presidents for being treated as subordinates by the Brasília group.

In the event of a vacancy in the presidency (Xaud's resignation, for example), the CBF statute determines that the oldest vice-president, in this case José Vanildo da Silva, 75 years old, president of the North-Rio-Grandense Football Federation, takes over on an interim basis.

He would have to call for the election of a new president within 30 days to complete the term, in which only vice presidents can compete. The candidate of the "Brasília class", in this hypothetical situation, would be Gustavo Dias Henrique.

"In the event of a vacancy, I am the deputy to exercise the mandate statutorily, but that doesn't bring me emotions", said José Vanildo, who praises both Xaud and Chico Mendes. "I can't imagine where this [the leaks against Xaud] could have come from, but I assure you that it was a big surprise, because we are living in another moment at CBF, a new management model", says he, who is retired as attorney for the municipality of Natal.

"The CBF Academy is today a link of the greatest importance in Brazilian football, it is a trainer of qualified coaches. Francisco is important. He is a coach, has experience in management, has contributed to this new model and has already held relevant positions in the world of sport. He is indeed capable of qualifying for the presidency", added the top hat from Rio Grande do Norte.

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