What the latest Datafolha says about football in Rio de Janeiro | OneFootball

AUTHOR: Civil Engineer Henrique Luduvice, Former President of CREA/DF, MÚTUA, and CONFEA. Flamengo member for 42 years. Ex officio member of the Deliberative Council

After a survey conducted on July 22 and 23, 2026, Datafolha published the nationwide scale of support for Brazil’s football clubs, with a margin of error of two percent.

In the report released by the newspaper Folha de São Paulo, later replicated all over the internet, there is a table highlighting Flamengo in first place with 22% of Brazilian supporters.

Considering that Brazil has a population of approximately 215 million inhabitants, Flamengo today has 47.3 million followers among its fan base. A true Rubro-Negro Nation, equivalent to that of major countries.

Next comes Corinthians, boasting 14%. In third place appears Palmeiras with 7%. Then we see São Paulo with 6%, followed by Cruzeiro with 4%. Vasco and Grêmio close out the top seven, tied at 3%.

It is observed that the other clubs, all equally important, hold 2% or less, as widely reported in coverage on the subject.

The percentages belonging to the other clubs labeled as giants of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Fluminense and Botafogo, stand at 2% and 1%, respectively.

The aforementioned survey reveals profound findings, especially regarding football in the State of Rio de Janeiro. In terms of fan-base size across Brazil, Flamengo has become 7.33 times larger than Vasco. Carrying out the subsequent calculations, one concludes that it surpasses Fluminense and Botafogo by 11 and 22 times, respectively, nationwide.

The news brought by DataFolha, although it reflects the moment of the survey, with no prediction of the future, is indeed striking. For in the recent past, there was a smaller gap between the percentages of these institutions, all widely recognized throughout Brazil.

Back when Rio de Janeiro held the status of the Nation’s Capital and Rádio Nacional was the only station broadcasting matches and feats from this State’s sporting scene to the country’s five regions, shaping opinion nationwide.

Because of this, Rio de Janeiro’s clubs gained contingents of supporters beyond the borders of their home state in those days.

Later came television and the internet, bringing systematic changes to the landscape, since the various states of the federation began to compete in exerting influence under more equivalent or nearly equal conditions.

Analyzing surveys by other institutes, carried out in recent times and using different methods and samples, one sees that Vasco stood at 6%. Botafogo and Fluminense ranged from 2% to 3%. The differences, although significant, (3.67, 7.33, and 11 times) were smaller. But apparently, they have been widening.

In order to better understand the reasons for this process of continuous distancing among the aforementioned clubs in Brazil, it is necessary to make a brief regression, assessing possible causes that may have contributed to these consequences.

This diagnosis must go back to the origins of Rio football, examining the likely circumstances that influenced such distinct performances among the clubs over the course of recent decades.

Starting from these premises, it must be recalled that Flamengo, Fluminense, Vasco, and Botafogo established themselves as the main winners of the championships held in the State of Rio de Janeiro between 1906 and 2026. Over this span of 121 years, 130 Carioca Championships took place.

The difference between the number of years and the number of titles stems from two circumstances related to the past: * the existence of two champions in eight editions, duly recognized by the Federation, when Amateur and Professional Championships were held simultaneously, since not all clubs turned professional at the same time. * the holding of two championships in 1979, both won by Flamengo. One representing the last of the old State of Guanabara and the next as the first of the State of Rio de Janeiro, consolidating the merger between those units of the federation, which had begun in 1975.

Analyzing the information available on the Federation’s platforms, it appears that Flamengo assumed the status of the greatest winner of the aforementioned competition, achieving that feat on 40 occasions. In second place comes Fluminense, with 33, followed by Vasco and Botafogo, with 24 and 21 triumphs.

In fairness, it must be emphasized that América stands in fifth place, having obtained 7 of these honors. Completing the statistics, one notes that Bangu and São Cristóvão, with 2 trophies, and Paissandu with one (1), total the one hundred and thirty Carioca Championships effectively conducted by the State Football Federation.

In the event that one includes the number of Brazilian Championship, Copa do Brasil, Libertadores, and Club World titles, the gap between Flamengo and its worthy counterparts from Rio de Janeiro becomes dramatically more pronounced.

Likewise, when measuring the number of supporters in the state itself, average attendance per match, number of victories in head-to-head clashes, volume of sponsorships, ticket revenues, and annual budgets.

It should be noted that the oldest derby in Rio de Janeiro, known as the “grandpa derby,” is Fluminense vs. Botafogo, which took part in every Carioca competition since 1906 and accumulated championships before their rivals began their own journeys.

Flamengo began its participation in football in 1912, and Vasco entered the top group in 1923, being the only one among the four to make the entire climb from the third to the first division.

Having highlighted the results within this important history, it must be remembered that football competitions in Brazil began, for the most part, as contests among neighborhoods in the capitals, later evolving to include other cities within the states. After all, in that now very distant past, there were enormous difficulties in transportation and communications.

As a result of the facts narrated above, the State Championships held important symbolic value. And the sources of support, regarded as essential for maintaining the clubs, were supporters, members, benefactors, and businesses located in the very neighborhoods or nearby.

This more limited dimension contributed to greater balance in the competitions, since there were no wide discrepancies between the economic power of the neighborhoods that gave rise to the clubs, unlike what is currently observed in Brazil and in the countries that adopted football as a sport of notable greatness.

With the passing of time and the accelerated evolution of the technological and infrastructure sectors, especially from the 1960s onward, transformations took hold across the various continents and nations. Including Brazil.

It should be recorded that, as a result of these advances, the focus of clubs and their supporters gradually shifted toward national and international competitions.

Take football in our country, where greater emphasis is placed on the Brazilian Championship and the Copa do Brasil. Why? Both competitions offer notable prestige and financial rewards, in addition to qualifying clubs for tournaments within the global context. Such as the Copa Libertadores (and, to a lesser extent, the Copa Sudamericana) and the FIFA Club World Cup.

The current process constantly impacts the standards that had existed up to now. For it increasingly brings in the interests and sponsorships of large companies and multinationals, making competitive entry more difficult for teams with fewer prospects in terms of revenue and purchasing power.

It must be emphasized that throughout this extremely competitive path, clubs with the largest fan bases and revenues, generally located in the most populous and developed regions, have been prevailing over the others in their states and across Brazil.

Especially those that show strong governance indicators, the ability to leverage resources, and modernization in their management.

This fact is reproduced in various nations. Just look at the names of the most recent champions of the German, French, Spanish, and Italian leagues. In general, the favoritism of the better-structured clubs, founded in the most economically developed regions of their respective countries, has been repeated.

In England, where the Premier League has been played for 34 years, often held up as an example to follow, it is noted that since the emergence of the renowned league, Manchester (United-13 and City-8) and London (Chelsea-5 and Arsenal-4) have won 30 of those championships. It should be noted that these two metropolises are superior economic powers within that country.

The other 4 titles were distributed among Liverpool (2), Blackburn, and Leicester, which bear the names of their cities. The evidence described in this article does not prevent, much less eliminate, the occurrence of occasional surprises or unforeseeable situations, fortunately present in sport and football. Both in Brazil and abroad.

In closing, on the field, in the stadium, it is still 11 vs. 11. Those who do not train, rest, strive, or fight, adopting appropriate strategies and benefiting from luck, lose. For the good of football. Certainly, the same occurs in all sports. As well as in life.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.