In this special live episode of the Behind The Badge podcast, Arnaldo Garcia, Director of Marketing of Coritiba, discussed how Brazilian football is on the verge of a commercial evolution.

Garcia was joined by co-hosts George Harborne and Fernando Noodt in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the recent SBC Rio Summit inside the Windsor Convention & Expo Centre, revealing discussions surrounding the reformation of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

Football clubs in Brazil have long been discussing coming together to commercialise the league in order to attract further sponsorship and enhance media rights valuations, to make a league that is indicative of the countless of footballing talents it produces each year.

This also led to Garcia discussing how the ownership models for most of the clubs in Brazil are changing. Coritiba is one of these clubs, and Garcia outlines how private investment has enabled the club to fund different aspects of Coritiba and enhance its overall brand.

There was also the timely conversation surrounding sports betting in Brazil, as President Lula officially regulated the sector last January to open up a new revenue stream for Brazilian clubs to gain sponsorship deals with operators.

Garcia described that the gambling sector in Brazil will become a more “solid segment” but will prove to be one of the more “important industries” for football when it comes to sponsorship revenue and its maturity over time will only add to that.

There was also time for some general football chat, as Garcia revealed that the club is primarily focused on returning to Série A via promotion.

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