Os presidentes entram em campo: estudo sobre os gestores dos clubes de futebol masculino que participaram do Campeonato Brasileiro da série A (1987-2019)

Abstract

The sports marketing process increasingly requires a qualified management, and when it comes to soccer it is not different. But who are the ones responsible for the operation, and what takes these agents to the highest position in the management of the clubs? The purpose of this research was to present the profile and some logics that lead an individual to occupy the position of president in the clubs that participated of the Brazilian Soccer Championship from 1987 - a year of major changes in the championship - to 2019 - the latest one. To that end, the Scandinavian and Published Work methods were used, in which each chapter represents an article that, in an interdependent way, responds to the general aim. In the first article, the research sought to understand the management of professional soccer. In the second article though, the analysis was extended to the sport as a whole, seeking to understand the profile of those in governance positions. In the third article, the management of Brazilian soccer was analyzed from the point of view of the Elite Theory. Finally, in the fourth article, the biographies of 236 presidents of Brazilian A-series soccer clubs from 1987 to 2019 were analyzed. It allowed the construction of the profile of these professionals and the analysis from the viewpoint of Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical assumptions. Therefore, the results showed that the position of president of a soccer club in Brazil is a political position within the management team, which has consolidated itself with a historically constructed profile. It is occupied mainly by men (99%), entrepreneurs (40%), who pursue the position most of the time on a voluntary basis, as the club&’s bylaws advocate it. Also, they have common habitus, such as longtime involvement with the club and strong emotional attachment. The research has shown that, in order to obtain technical improvement in management, it is not enough to formulate criticisms or encourage professionalization, it is necessary more than that, understanding who is acting and then proposing ways to assist in the management transformation.