Flamengo get boost in bid to have 1987 Brasileirão title recognised

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·19 de febrero de 2026

Flamengo get boost in bid to have 1987 Brasileirão title recognised

Attorney General demands recognition of the title for Flamengo

That Flamengo is a nine-time champion of the Brasileirão, no one doubts. But there are those who question the 1987 title. To end any kind of debate, the Attorney General, Paulo Gonet, sent to the Supreme Federal Court (STF) a favorable opinion on the action filed by the Rubro-Negro for the club's recognition as champion alongside Sport.

The Attorney General's Office understands that the request made by Flamengo in April 2017 requesting the recognition of the four-time Brasileirão is valid. At the time, the Most Beloved attempted to rescind the decision of the First Panel of the STF, which invalidated the 2011 decision that recognized Mengo and Sport as winners.

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The opinion is for the rescission of the contested decision. For the resolution of the case, the conclusion of nullity of RDP/CBF n. 02/2011 should be dismissed, preserving the recognition granted to Sport within the strict limits of the final judgment, without, therefore, prohibiting the shared title of champion of the 1987 tournament. The opinion is that the rescission action should be judged valid,” says the opinion signed by Paulo.

WHAT DID SPORT DO?

In court, Sport managed to overturn the resolution issued by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) in 2011 that also awarded the title to Flamengo. Thus, the Pernambuco team was officially declared the sole winner of 1987. It is important to note that there is no possibility of the Recife team losing the championship.

HOW WAS THE 1987 CONFUSION?

Without money to organize the Brazilian Championship, the CBF announced that it would not promote the competition in 1987. So, the Clube dos 13, which brought together the 13 teams with the largest fan bases in the country, invited three more clubs and set up the Copa União, with 16 teams. Thus, the entity secured major sponsors, and the competition was successful with audiences in stadiums and on television.

Annoyed by the growth of the Clube dos 13, the CBF changed its stance and promoted the championship without the 16 main teams, called the Yellow Module. The entity itself named the Copa União as the Green Module. However, against the arbitrary decision of the Confederation, the main clubs in the country refused the imposed determination for the two champions from each side to meet in a playoff.

Therefore, Flamengo and Internacional did not agree to the playoff with Sport and Guarani. Thus, the Pernambuco and São Paulo teams won against the Rio and Gaúcho teams by forfeit and played the final among themselves, with the Recife team being the champion. Meanwhile, Mengão triumphed in the 'first division' match, 1-0, with a goal by Bebeto.

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