Náutico has the 'fullest stadium'
In Aflitos, 74% of the seats are occupied in the Brasileirão
Flamengo takes an average of 38.746 to its home games at Maracanã
With the largest fan base in Brazil, Flamengo retains a title in this year's Brazilian Championship that its fans won't let the Rio de Janeiro club lose: the title of club with the highest average attendance in the country. After 25 rounds of the 2008 Campeonato Nacional, the two-time Rio de Janeiro champion leads the rankings of paying fans at home games, with 38.746 per match. Meanwhile, the team with the highest percentage of seats occupied in its stadium in the tournament hails from the Northeast: Náutico, with a 74% capacity at Aflitos Stadium.
In terms of ticket sales, Flamengo's closest rival is Grêmio, buoyed by its excellent run in the competition. The Brasileirão leader brought an average of over 30 fans to its matches at the Olímpico Stadium (30.418).
In third place in the championship, Cruzeiro holds the same position in fan attendance (22.826). Sport completes the "Fans' Top 4", with 21.655 fans per match. Internacional and Coritiba also have around 21 fans.
The cities of Rio de Janeiro (with Flamengo and Botafogo) and Curitiba (Atlético-PR and Coritiba) have the most clubs in the top ten: two teams each. Palmeiras (in ninth place) is the only representative from São Paulo.
Three clubs with Brazilian titles under their belts and large fan bases, but threatened with relegation, are at the bottom of the list. Fluminense, Vasco, and Santos occupy a modest 14th, 15th, and 16th place, respectively.
The last two positions are occupied by the two lowest-ranked teams in the Brasileirão, in reversed positions. Last in the standings, Portuguesa has the second-lowest average attendance in the competition, with just 4.231 fans. Better only than Ipatinga. The second-to-last team brings only 3.922 people to each match it plays at Ipatingão.
Check out the consolidated statistics of the Brasileirão
Náutico fans have supported the team in Aflitos
The rankings change significantly when considering the ratio of average fan numbers to the capacity of the home stadiums. In the fight to remain in the national football elite in 2009, Náutico had the highest occupancy rate, with an average of 74% of the Aflitos stadium seats filled with fans.
Timbu has the "fullest stadium" in Nacional, proportionally, thanks to a Pernambuco state government program that purchases 10 tickets for all the club's matches in Recife. These tickets are exchanged for receipts issued by retailers. The same applies to Sport, which has a larger number of tickets (15).
Náutico narrowly edges out Atlético-PR, which has 73% of the seats filled at Arena da Baixada every game. Sport, Grêmio, and Coritiba round out the top five in the rankings.
Fluminense is in last place. This is a direct consequence of the Rio de Janeiro Tricolor's poor performance in the competition. It's also due to the sheer size of the Maracanã stadium. The team's games at the stadium have a 14% occupancy rate.