Brazilian football club Palmeiras won six categories at the 2026 Confut Sudamericana Awards on Thursday night in Rio de Janeiro, dominating the annual ceremony recognizing top South American sports management.
Palmeiras president Leila Pereira attended the ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro hotel in Barra da Tijuca, where she accepted the award for statutory manager, owner or club president.
The event concluded the fifth edition of the Confut Sudamericana conference, a three-day sports business gathering held from Tuesday to Thursday. Organized by FutebolCard, the conference brought together clubs, companies, and executives from across South America to celebrate commercial innovations and administrative achievements in regional football.
Palmeiras Award Categories
Palmeiras led the honors list across 32 categories after securing victories in both organizational and individual classifications. The São Paulo based club was named the club with the best management practices, while Pereira earned top individual honors for club leadership.
Several key figures within the Palmeiras organization also collected individual awards during the gala. Anderson Barros won football executive of the year, João Paulo Sampaio was named youth academy professional of the year, and Emerson Oki took the award for technology and innovation professional.
The club achieved additional recognition in sports technology through its collaborative project Tactic AI, developed alongside artificial intelligence research laboratory Google DeepMind, which won the award for best innovation or technology action.
Brazilian Club Winners
Multiple other prominent Brazilian football clubs earned awards for commercial, social, and operational initiatives. Rio de Janeiro side Flamengo took home the award for best membership program, while Santos won best club TV for its media operations.
São Paulo side Corinthians received the award for best sustainable or inclusion social action for its anti-racism campaign titled Não tem lugar para o racismo. Red Bull Bragantino won best matchday action for its Matchday experience, and its executive André Rocha won the award for general executive direction professional.
In medical and support performance, Dr. Rodrigo Lasmar of Atlético-MG and the Brazilian Football Confederation won medical professional of the year. Fluminense specialist Nilton Petrone earned the award for physiotherapy professional, while Marisa Santiago of Grêmio and the CBF won psychology professional of the year. Cruzeiro scout Joaquim Jorge Oliveira Pinto took the award for scouting professional, and Bahia executive Charline Carolino won for people management.
International and Commercial Honors
International clubs from Argentina and Chile were also recognized during the ceremony. Argentine club Boca Juniors won best licensing department, while its representative Santiago Carreras took top honors as communication professional. Chilean team Colo-Colo won the award for best women's football project, and Nueli Silveira of Ferroviária was named women's football professional of the year.
The Brazilian Football Confederation, known as the CBF, was named best South American football organization. CBF representatives Regina Sampaio and Cláudio Gomes won sports law professional and commercial professional of the year, respectively. Continental governing body Conmebol saw Cláudia Cortázar win club sports marketing professional.
In stadium and commercial categories, Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte won best sports facility, while Leonardo Barbosa of Arena MRV won arena management and operations professional. Financial executive Márcio Lara of Athletico-PR took the finance professional award. Beverage brand Brahma won featured sponsor and best advertising campaign for its campaign Tá liberado acreditar. Marketing firm Brax won best sports marketing agency, Braziline won best licensing company, Buda Mendes of Getty Images won football photography professional, and Fábio Ritter of Betano took sports advertising professional.
The annual conference in Rio de Janeiro serves as a major business forum for South American football, bringing together administrative leaders, corporate sponsors, and technological innovators from across the region.
