Aníbal Mosa, president of Blanco y Negro, the corporation that runs Colo Colo, is holding parallel talks with the two slates registered for the National Professional Football Association (ANFP) elections, according to La Tercera. One slate is led by Jorge Uauy and the other by Jorge Yunge.
According to the outlet, the deciding factor would be support for a possible bid by Mosa for the presidency of the Chilean Football Federation (FFCh). No other source has confirmed those negotiations.
The FFCh is the founding body of Chilean football and the entity affiliated with FIFA. It currently operates in the shadow of the ANFP, but under the new law on professional sports corporations (SADP), it will take on a leading role. Among other responsibilities, it will run the national team.
Under that new structure, professional football will have to contend with the National Amateur Football Association (ANFA), which has distanced itself and asserted its importance ahead of the law taking effect.
The businessman from Puerto Montt spoke at Monumental stadium before the second leg against Puerto Montt in the Chile Cup quarterfinals, a match that was interrupted by rain. There, he made an unexpected recommendation for the Chilean national team's coaching position: "We have to go after Marcelo Bielsa".
"I would go after him because he knows the ropes, knows the country, understands the Chilean way of thinking, knows the players," he said. He added that the position needs "that stature, that experience" and someone backed by the public, and that he has discussed it with the candidates for the ANFP presidency.
The statement came when he was asked about the national team's alleged interest in Fernando Ortiz, Colo Colo's Argentine coach. Mosa said he was "calm" about renewing the contract, although negotiations have yet to make significant progress despite initial contact having taken place.
Colo Colo has not decided its position on the election at the Quilín headquarters. Aziz Mosa, the executive's nephew, initially appeared on Yunge's slate, but his name was removed. "This information about my nephew Aziz Mosa's inclusion is false," the president said.
"Colo Colo has 10 million fans, and while it is true that we have two votes, Colo Colo's political weight means we have to think very carefully," he explained.
Mosa said the winning board would be "a transitional slate", because the federation issue will be discussed a year from now. The club, he said, will give its opinion after reviewing and analyzing both candidacies' platforms.
