RIO DE JANEIRO, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Serie A clubs have announced plans to establish an independent league that would bring the country's domestic football structure in line with its European counterparts.
A letter outlining the move, signed by 19 of the 20 top-flight teams, was presented to Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) officials on Tuesday in a meeting with club presidents.
An excerpt from the letter revealed the clubs had made an "immediate decision to create a football league in Brazil, which will be founded as soon as possible and which will organize and economically develop the Brazilian championship."
It added: "Several events have occurred over the years ... that reveal a total and absolute distance between the desires of the clubs that support Brazilian professional football and the way in which the CBF is managed."
Sport Recife, who are due to hold elections, were the only club not to sign the document. Serie B teams have also been invited to join the initiative.
The move comes as clubs seek a bigger say in the scheduling of matches, which competitions they take part in, and commercial decisions, among other matters.
The CBF controls all of Brazil's major domestic football competitions as well as the national teams. Most of Europe's top leagues fall under the responsibility of separate entities that are not answerable to their national associations.
Brazilian clubs have long argued that the current structure has not protected the game's best interests while lending itself to corruption.
"It [the letter] establishes the principles, and from now on we are going to start detailing the operational issues of the calendar, the constitution of the competition, commercial strategies, the statutes. The idea is to [replace] the Brazilian Serie A," Bahia president Guilherme Bellintani told newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.
Atletico Goias president Adson Batista denied the move represented a spilt with the CBF.
"With so many problems that we are experiencing, the clubs understand that ... they have the right to try to organize their championships. However, it is not a separation from the CBF, which will play its role," Batista said.
Newspaper O Globo reported that the clubs aimed to begin the new league next year.
The announcement came nine days after CBF president Rogerio Caboclo was suspended for 30 days amid accusations that he sexual harassed a female employee.
The entity's acting president, Colonel Nunes, and secretary general Walter Feldman were present at Tuesday's meeting. The CBF did not immediately comment. Enditem
