Sociedade Anônima do Futebol ("Football anonymous society", SAF) is a type of public limited company in Brazil.
[1] It was introduced by Law 14193/21,[1] which sought to improve the governance and financial management of Brazilian football clubs.
[2] Until 2021 football clubs in Brazil were structured as non-profit civil associations, who were exempted from taxes, and could not be sold to investors.
[3][2][4] Other than the civil associations, some football clubs were structured as public limited companies prior to the introduction of the SAF model, such as Cuiabá Esporte Clube (later transitioned to a SAF) and Red Bull Bragantino, who opted to remain as a public limited company.
[5] The law was based on a study by the lawyers Rodrigo Monteiro de Castro and José Francisco Manssur, published in their 2016 book Futebol, Mercado e Estado (Football, Market and State), which analyzed the business structure of Brazilian football and compared it to foreign models.