Flamengo Rowing Club

Originally founded as a rowing club in 1895, Flamengo created its football department in 1911 and became one of the largest and most popular clubs in Brazil and South America.

History

Flamengo Rowing Club was born in the Flamengo neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro as a rowing association. Football arrived in 1911, when a group of players dissatisfied with Fluminense migrated to the club, giving rise to one of the biggest rivals in Rio football. Throughout the twentieth century, Flamengo established itself as the club with the largest fan base in Brazil. The historical peak came in the early 1980s, with the team of Zico, Junior, Leandro and Adilio, which won the Libertadores Cup and the Intercontinental Cup in 1981, thrashing Liverpool 3-0 in the final. After a long period without major national titles, the club experienced a new era of success starting in 2019, under the leadership of Jorge Jesus, winning the Libertadores Cup and the Brasileirão in the same year, and repeating the continental trophy in 2022. Flamengo maintains the largest fan base in the country according to public opinion polls and is recognized internationally for its fan base and sports revenue among the largest in Latin America.