Brazilian football clubs in Série A and Série B will soon face a new sustainability benchmark that evaluates their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, including their commercial relationships with sports betting operators.
The Índice Brasileiro de Sustentabilidade no Futebol (IBSF) comes from Movimento Sustentabilidade em Campo (MSeC), with backing from the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF). The initiative will assess all 40 clubs across the two divisions, with the first results expected in early 2027.
Betting Partnerships Become Part of ESG Review
The IBSF will ask clubs 86 questions across environmental, social, and governance categories. Importantly, clubs must provide documentation to support their responses rather than rely solely on self-reported information.
Within the governance pillar, the index will examine clubs’ relationships with betting operators. The assessment will consider how much sponsorship revenue contributes to each club’s budget and whether clubs maintain internal processes to identify and address potential irregularities linked to betting activity.
MSeC leader Marcelo Linguitte said betting sponsorships have become an established part of Brazilian football’s financing model. Therefore, he argues that clubs need stronger oversight and structured monitoring as these commercial relationships continue to expand.
The approach focuses less on judging betting sponsorships themselves and more on contract transparency, internal controls, and compliance. This distinction could become increasingly important as Brazil’s regulated betting market continues to reshape the financial relationship between clubs and operators.
IBSF Measures Broader ESG Performance
Beyond betting partnerships, the environmental assessment will examine waste management, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental education for fans.
Meanwhile, the social pillar will assess diversity, inclusion, and community initiatives. The governance category will also cover contract transparency, female representation on boards, ethics codes, and anti-corruption measures.
MSeC plans to audit the results and share them with clubs before publishing the findings. Furthermore, the organisation intends to repeat the assessment annually, allowing clubs and stakeholders to track progress over time.
Governance Could Offer the Biggest Opportunity
Linguitte expects social initiatives to perform strongly in the first assessment, particularly because many Brazilian clubs already support anti-racism and community programmes.
However, governance, transparency, and environmental performance could leave more room for improvement. As a result, the IBSF aims to provide more than a simple ESG scorecard.
By introducing structured measurement and greater accountability, the index could push Brazilian football clubs toward stronger governance practices as commercial growth, including betting partnerships, continues to accelerate.
