Under Crisis, Brazilian Basketball's Indebtedness Increases 2,000% in 6 Years

11/03/2016 - 11h55

Brazilian basketball had the worst performance in the Rio Olympic Games in its history. The men's team, which was aiming for a medal, was eliminated in the first round and ended up in ninth place.

The women's team performed even worse. It finished the championship in 11th place, without a single victory. Both campaigns are the most visible evidence of the dire situation that the sport is passing through in Brazil.

The problems are going on mostly off the courts, however, they obviously ricochet and rebound into the basket on court. The CBB (Brazilian Basketball Confederation), the highest-level entity in the country, is at the core of the problem.

Since Carlos Nunes took command in 2009 the debt of the confederation has gone from R$ 1.2 million (adjusted for inflation) [US$ 375,000] to R$ 17.2 million (US$ 5.4 million) based on the organization's 2015 balance sheet.

This increase in the debt, calculated by Accounting Professor Jorge Eduardo Scarpin from the Federal University of Paraná, has been more than 2,000% in six years.

The debt is forecast to reach R$ 19 million (US$ 5.94 million) by the end of 2016 judging by the trend of the last few years. The CBB has, by far, the highest level of indebtedness of any national Olympic sport.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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