Brazil’s Torneio Touchdown (TTD) Cancels 2016 Season
In a statement published on Wednesday, March 16th, the Director of Brazil’s Torneio Touchdown, the country’s longest running (founded 2008) and most successful country-wide American football league, informed its 16 member clubs that there will be no 2016 competition.
Check out the published TTD note and translation below.
“The Torneio Touchdown announces that there will be no championship in 2016. The Torneio Touchdown and the teams have not reached a consensus that will work for the championship in 2016 and because of this we decided that the Torneio Touchdown will not organize a championship in 2016.
Thanks to everyone who always followed us and supported. We hope American football to grow every day.”
Luis Claudio da Silva has been the majority partner of the league since 2011. Claudio da Silva is the son of the former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is currently under investigation by the federal government.
In 2014, the TTD suffered from the departure of the main sponsors and warned the clubs they could no longer subsidize the member clubs with R$20,000 for each team – funds that were used to help costs and displacement of the teams.
As reported by Folha de São Paulo, Brazil, Luis Claudio said the reasons for the cancellation of the competition “are internal, between the League and the teams” and he could not comment on the case. He denied any influence with the fact that one of the targets of Operation Zealots, the Federal Police. “It has nothing to do with this [investigation]. I guarantee you. Also, because first I have to be accused of something to have to worry with any defense. It does not exist,” he told Folha de San Paulo.
On the loss of the main sponsors of the Touchdown Tournament, Luis Claudio was emphatic about a possible crisis within the sponsor company. “Not only is the football that is so. The crisis is there everywhere. It has nothing to do with anything else,” he said.
Unification of American Football in Brazil?
Amid this crisis, one possible solution as revealed itself and is approaching the Brazilian horizon.
In a statement published on a social network, the President of the (CBFA), Guto Sousa stated that if there is any interest among the 16 teams who were set to participate in the canceled 2016 TTD season, they are welcome to the CBFA, provided there are no adverse effects for the current members of both the CBFA National League (2nd division), as well as the CBFA National SuperLiga (1st division).
“The National League enrollment will be re-opened because we were set on the table and schedule, and it will be necessary to readjust. In this case, we will talk to all concerned and if necessary to make an adjustment in the format that had been applied. Since this measure does not harm any of the teams that have been with the CBFA. No team will fall from their current CBFA Division or be forced to make further travels than what was already planned. The new teams will be welcome, but only if their arrival does not hurt anyone,” said Sousa.
