Brazilian football legend Ronaldo Nazario has withdrawn from the race to become the president of Brazil’s football federation (CBF).
A former Ballon d'Or winner and two-time World Cup champion had declared his candidacy in December with the goal of restoring Brazil’s footballing reputation after years of scandals involving CBF leadership.
As per BBC Sports, Ronaldo had planned to challenge the current CBF president, Ednaldo Rodrigues but soon realized that he would not be able to compete against him who has the overwhelming support of the electorate.
Ronaldo said in a statement published on his social media channels, "On my first contact with the 27 regional federations, I found 23 closed doors.”
The statement added, “The federations refused to receive me in their homes, on the grounds of their satisfaction with the current administration and support for [Rodrigues'] re-election."
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Brazil's football association election system gives three votes to each of the 27 regional federations, two votes to each Serie A club and one vote to each Serie B club.
Ronaldo accepted that the federation leaders had the right to continue supporting Rodrigues but was disappointed that they were unwilling to consider or even discuss alternative leadership options.
"The statute gives the federations the strongest vote, so it's clear that there's no way I can run. I was unable to present my project, put forward my ideas and listen to them as I would have liked,” the statement added.
Rodrigues is expected to be the only candidate in the upcoming election, with no opponents challenging him.
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