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Brazil confederation votes new head unopposed

The president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Jose Maria Marin (L) and vice president Marco Polo Del Nero inaugurate the new Granja Comary training center on March 25, 2014

The Brazilian football Confederation (CBF) on Wednesday voted for 73-year-old lawyer Marco Polo Del Nero as their 19th president, to succeed incumbent Jose Maria Marin from next year. Del Nero, the son of a former Palmeiras player, was chosen unopposed by the chairmen of the 20 first division clubs and 27 regional federation chairmen, 24 of whom had publicly backed him beforehand while the three others were reported to harbour some reservations. Players' pressure group Bom Senso, campaigning for reforms in a domestic game struggling to counter problems including rising club debts, a crammed fixture programme and incidents of hooliganism and racism, wanted a new broom but had no vote in Wednesday's process. "My project is to provide continuity," Del Nero said ahead of the vote. Marin had taken over from Ricardo Teixeira, mired in corruption allegations, three years ago and will oversee Brazil's hosting of the World Cup, starting on June 12, before handing over the baton to Del Nero. Having presented himself as a "more of the same" president-elect, Del Nero's rise to the top post in the Brazilian game is likely to frustrate players determined to see changes in the calendar and the way the domestic game is run. Crowds for the just-ended regional state leagues have been poor and the top 25 clubs have an estimated debt pile of some 1.5 billion euros ($2 billion), around 600 million euros more than receipts. There have been instances in recent months of some top-flight sides, including Rio side Botafogo, failing to pay salaries on time. Lawmakers are currently considering a bill (Proforte) on the scope of reform of the domestic game, but the reform campaign comes with the Confederation still run by a coterie of ageing men in suits. Marin, who will next year revert to being senior vice-president, will take charge once more should Del Nero be incapacitated, even though at 81 the outgoing president unashamedly represents, as does his successor, the old guard. One Del Nero ally, Delfim Peixoto, chairman of the football federation of the southern region of Santa Catarina, dismissed any suggestion that a lack of opposition to a shoo-in candidate might harm the game. Peixoto told sports daily Lance that some regional presidents -- whom he did not name -- wanted to make waves without having a project of their own. "(They provided) an empty opposition of personal projects. Six were opposed -- and five of them wanted to be candidates," insisted Peixoto, adding that Del Nero deserved to take over after a solid stewardship of the Sao Paulo state federation. After Teixeira stepped down in 2012, Del Nero took the former's FIFA Executive Committee seat and has since 2007 sat on the executive committee of South American Football Confederation CONMEBOL.