Brazil’s swimming federation, the CBDA, has parted ways with CEO Leonardo Castro one month after he took over, the organization announced in early June.
“The main reason [for the exit] was a divergence of ideas in the management of the entity,” Castro told Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte (translated from Portuguese). Castro took the role over from Ana Paula Alves, who had been with the organization since July 2017. Castro had worked with teams in Rio de Janeiro and held a position in the Brazilian Ministry of Sports.
Castro took over as the CBDA faced significant financial hardship that has reportedly left it millions of dollars in debt. The organization, which at one point had about 90 employees, is down to about 30. In April, Globo Esporte reported that the downtown Rio CBDA headquarters were vacated and employees were told to work from home in order to save money on water, gas and electricity.
In April, CBDA President Miguel Cagnoni published an open letter explaining that despite the dire state, he did not anticipate there being any repercussions for Brazilian athletes in 2019. He did, however, maintain that the cancellation of the planned 2019 Open Tournament was not a result of finances, as was rumored, and was a “technical decision” made in 2018. The 2019 Brazil Trophy, Brazil’s national championships, was funded through a bailout from the Brazilian Olympic Committee.
The CBDA has long been riddled with unrest. Just recently, in 2017, former president Coaracy Nunes and three other directors, along with two businessmen, were indicted on charges of forming a criminal organization that diverted money from Brazilian water sports.
Press F to pay respects
If Brazil can’t afford to keep the lights on, they sure can’t afford to drug test. Recent Brazilians who test positive include Gabriel Santos,Ceasar Cielo, Henrique Rodrigues, Henrique Barbosa Nicholas Santos, Vinicius Waked, Etiene Medeiros, Glauber Silva, Diego Prado, and Leonardo Sumida.