Brazil's football clubs, whose financial mismanagement has become as bad as the national team's performance on the field, have won debt relief in a law passed by Congress.

The measure passed Monday in the capital Brasilia allows financially struggling clubs to repackage debts into easier payments of up to 240 instalments, with much lower fines for late payment.

In return, clubs are required to adhere to a series of measures modernizing accounts and increasing transparency and fiscal responsibility.

The government, which drafted the bill, estimates Brazilian football clubs' combined debt at four billion reais ($1.27 billion).

The clubs' financial disarray is thought to have contributed to a malaise running right through Brazil's once all-conquering football machine, a decline demonstrated dramatically in the national team's 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semi-final's of last year's World Cup.