Sandro Rosell

In 2008, Rosell founded Ailanto, a sports-marketing firm dedicated to organize football events in Brazil. In November 2008, Ailanto was given the rights by the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Ricardo Teixeira, to organize a friendly match between Brazil and Portugal. A week before the match, to be played in Brasília, the government of the Federal District signed a contract to pay Ailanto R$9 million (US$4 million at the time) for the marketing rights and for other loosely defined services, including arranging transport and accommodation for both teams' players. That deal was investigated for padding and corruption. The public prosecutor's office in Brasília said that receipted expenditure relating to the game was only around R$1 million, and that in any case the Football Federation of Brasília (FBF), an affiliate of the CBF, had paid. It also said that, although the Federal District government bought the rights to the game, the money from ticket sales flowed to the FBF. Brasília's police force investigated irregularities and searched Ailanto's premises in Rio de Janeiro, seizing documents.