Corinthians issued an official statement on Monday, November 2, explaining its position after CONMEBOL did not approve coach Clarence Seedorf’s license. The Dutch coach holds a UEFA Pro license, obtained in European soccer. Corinthians said it will submit additional documents to demonstrate that Seedorf meets the criteria required by CONMEBOL.
The club said it believes Seedorf has the résumé and qualifications to satisfy the governing body’s requirements. Corinthians also said it will seek a review of the decision and that Seedorf is continuing to work with the team as usual while the approval process remains ongoing.
According to the statement, Corinthians received notification from the Brazilian Football Confederation, known by its Portuguese initials CBF, that CONMEBOL had not approved Seedorf’s UEFA Pro license. The club said it considers the coach’s experience and qualifications sufficient to meet all of the criteria CONMEBOL requires for approval.
Corinthians said it would send additional documents to the CBF on the morning of Tuesday, November 3. The club wants the Brazilian organization to ask CONMEBOL to review the case. The statement did not specify what the additional documents contain or identify which particular criteria were at issue.
The matter concerns the recognition of a coaching credential for the purposes of CONMEBOL’s requirements. Seedorf’s UEFA Pro license is the credential Corinthians cited, and the club’s position is that his résumé and qualifications support its approval. The issue described by the club is an administrative review of that credential, rather than an announcement that Seedorf has stopped working with the team.
Corinthians said the approval process is still underway. It also noted that Seedorf’s name has already been published in the CBF’s Daily Information Bulletin, known as the BID. On that basis, the club said he will continue working normally in preparation for the team’s next match. The statement did not say that the review had been completed or that CONMEBOL had changed its decision.
A request for review would give the Brazilian federation the documents Corinthians says support its case and ask it to take the matter back to CONMEBOL. The club’s statement describes that as the next step. It does not report a result from the proposed request, and the approval question remains unresolved in the information released on Monday.
The issue follows Seedorf’s first two matches with Corinthians. He made his debut for the club on October 24 against Vasco da Gama. Corinthians lost that match 3-2 in the 32nd round of the Brazilian Championship.
In his second match, Corinthians played Mirassol in the 33rd round and won 2-0. The club said the victory ended an 11-match stretch without a win. The result came before the scheduled Majestoso derby against São Paulo, which was listed as Corinthians’ next match.
Corinthians is scheduled to face São Paulo on Wednesday, November 4, at 9:30 p.m. in the 34th round of the Brazilian Championship. The match is set to take place at MorumBIS. The club said Seedorf would continue working with the squad in preparation for that game while the licensing matter proceeds.
The statement does not describe any change to the team’s preparations or say that Seedorf’s role has been suspended. Instead, Corinthians says he remains at work with the group during the review. The club’s position is that the coach has the credentials and résumé required, and its announced action is to provide further supporting documents through the CBF.
In this context, the term “homologation” refers to the approval or formal recognition being considered by CONMEBOL. The club’s use of the term identifies the specific decision it wants reviewed. Its statement does not provide a detailed explanation of CONMEBOL’s assessment, the full requirements for approval, or the reasoning behind the non-approval. It also does not state what outcome the governing body will reach after receiving any additional material.
The CBF is the organization through which Corinthians says it received CONMEBOL’s notification and through which it plans to submit the additional documents. Corinthians said it would ask the CBF to request a review from CONMEBOL. The statement therefore sets out a sequence: the club sends the documents to the Brazilian federation, and the federation is asked to present the review request to the continental governing body.
For now, the club’s announcement addresses both the administrative process and the immediate sporting schedule. The review concerns Seedorf’s UEFA Pro license, while the team continues its preparations for the upcoming league match. Corinthians’ statement makes clear that the club intends to challenge the non-approval, but it does not report that the challenge has yet been decided.
The next confirmed details in the club’s announcement are the planned submission of documents on Tuesday morning and the match against São Paulo on Wednesday night. Corinthians said Seedorf would continue working normally in the meantime. No further outcome concerning the license was included in the statement released Monday.
