Clube de Regatas do Flamengo

Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, or simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi-sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, best known for its football team. Founded in 1895 in the Flamengo neighborhood, it began as a rowing club and played its first football match in 1912. Flamengo is one of only two clubs never relegated from Brazil's top division, alongside São Paulo. With over 46.9 million fans, it is the most popular football club in Brazil. The club's traditional red-and-black striped shirts and white shorts are iconic, and their home matches are played at the legendary Maracanã Stadium, which also hosts the Brazil national team. The mascot, a vulture (urubu), has been a symbol since 1969.

Flamengo is Brazil's richest and most valuable football club, with annual revenue of R$1.2 billion (€218 million) and a valuation over R$5 billion (€800 million). It boasts the largest social media following among non-European clubs, with 65 million followers as of December 2025. The club has been highly successful in the 21st century, winning numerous national and international titles. Their training center, Ninho do Urubu (Vulture's Nest), in Vargem Grande, Rio de Janeiro, houses the professional teams and a prolific youth academy that has produced stars like Zico, Vinícius Júnior, and Lucas Paquetá.

Flamengo players have also shined for Brazil. Leônidas da Silva, a Flamengo forward, won the Golden Boot and Golden Ball at the 1938 World Cup. Zizinho took the Golden Ball in 1950. Four of Brazil's top ten scorers have been Flamengo players, and seven have won the World Cup while with the club, including Mário Zagallo, who scored in the 1958 final. [edit]

The club was founded on a November afternoon in 1895 when a group of young men gathered at the home of Nestor de Barros in the Flamengo neighborhood. Their aim was to form a rowing club, and they called it the Flamengo Regatta Group. The first boat, the Etoile, was purchased from a French ship. For the first sixteen years, Flamengo was strictly a rowing club. Then, in 1911, a rift at Fluminense led to a group of players, led by Alberto Borgerth who also rowed for Flamengo, defecting to the club. On December 24, 1911, the football department was officially created, and Flamengo played its first official match in 1912, a 16-2 thrashing of Mangueira.

The early decades saw Flamengo establish itself as a force in Rio de Janeiro. The club won its first Campeonato Carioca in 1914 and repeated in 1915. The 1940s brought the first great Flamengo generation, with Zizinho and Leônidas da Silva leading the team to three state titles. But the golden era arrived with Zico in the 1970s and 1980s. From 1978 to 1983, Flamengo won four Carioca titles, three Brazilian championships, and, in 1981, the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup, beating Liverpool 3-0 in Tokyo. Zico scored 509 goals for the club, a record that still stands.

The 1990s and 2000s were more uneven. Flamengo won the Brazilian championship in 1992 and the Copa do Brasil in 1990 and 2006, but financial troubles and inconsistent performances plagued the club. The turning point came in 2013 with the Copa do Brasil title, followed by the 2019 season under Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus. That year, Flamengo won both the Brasileirão and the Libertadores, playing an electrifying style that captivated the continent. The 2019 Libertadores final against River Plate, where Flamengo scored two goals in the final minutes to win 2-1, is considered one of the greatest comebacks in the competition's history.

Recent years have confirmed Flamengo's return to the top. The club won the Libertadores again in 2022 and the Copa do Brasil in 2022 and 2024. In 2025, under former player Filipe Luís as head coach, Flamengo won its eighth Brazilian championship, finishing first in the Série A. The club's financial health and massive fanbase have made it a powerhouse, regularly attracting top talent from across South America. [edit]