Vasco Board Puts Lamacchia's R$3 Billion SAF Takeover to Council Vote on 6 October

Vasco da Gama's board has referred Marcos Lamacchia's proposal to buy 90% of the club's football company (SAF) for approximately R$3 billion to its internal councils, with an extraordinary session of the Deliberative Council called for 6 October to validate the deal, according to Brazilian reports. The transaction, led by Lamacchia's Almirante Participações S/A, won the judicial auction for control of the SAF and now requires both a statute change and the approval of the club's governing bodies before it can be completed.

The deal on the table

Under the terms reported by RTI Esporte and carried by Terra, Almirante Participações would take 90% of the share capital of the "Nova SAF" for roughly R$3 billion, with the club's associativo structure retaining the remaining 10%. The offer requires a reform of Vasco's statutes: article 135 currently obliges the association to hold at least 20% of the shares, and the proposal reduces that minimum to 10% so the investor can assume control.

Lamacchia, a Brazilian businessman who is the stepson of Palmeiras owner Leila Pereira, according to Folha, has already advanced R$150 million to the club via a debtor-in-possession (DIP) loan during Vasco's judicial recovery process. The documentation has been sent to the presidents of the Deliberative Council, the Beneméritos Council, the Fiscal Council and the General Assembly, opening the formal phase of the approval process.

Why 6 October matters

Club president Pedro Paulo de Oliveira requested the extraordinary Deliberative Council session for 6 October, when councillors will examine the terms of the operation and the next steps toward completing it. Even if the council validates the agreement, the sale still depends on a final vote of the club's members in a General Assembly, meaning the deal remains contingent on internal governance approvals rather than a done transaction.

The proposal would hand Lamacchia control of both the total and voting capital of the new SAF, while Vasco's structure would keep the Class A ordinary shares and a package of veto rights and prerogatives designed to protect the club's identity, as reported by Agência FBO. For a club that has spent recent years managing debt through judicial recovery, the R$3 billion valuation represents one of the largest commitments ever made to a Brazilian SAF.

The 6 October session is the immediate gate for the deal, but the broader test is whether Vasco's members accept a reduced minimum stake in exchange for the capital injection. A council rejection would send the club back toward its recovery-plan obligations with a fresh funding question; approval would begin a phased transfer of control to the incoming group.

This report draws on reporting by RTI Esporte (via Terra), Agência FBO (via Boa Informação) and Folha de S.Paulo, covering the judicial auction outcome and the club's internal approval process. Cover image: Estádio de São Januário by Diego Baravelli, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.