This Friday morning (2) represented a milestone in Flamengo's history. With the presence of Mayor Marcelo Crivella, representatives of the City of Rio and club directors, the release of the Ilha do Governador stadium for use by Mais Querido was made official.

The event also featured Índio da Costa, the municipal secretary of Urban Planning, Infrastructure and Housing, Patricia Amorim, former president of Flamengo and undersecretary of Sports and Leisure, and councilwoman Tânia Bastos.

During the ceremony, Flamengo's president, Eduardo Bandeira de Mello, confirmed the official inauguration of the stadium for June 14th, when Flamengo faces Ponte Preta in the seventh round of the Brazilian Championship.

Before signing the license that legalizes the facilities and opens the stadium, Mayor Marcelo Crivella highlighted Flamengo's efforts to build Rio de Janeiro's newest sports arena.

"I would like to greet the tireless Eduardo Bandeira de Mello, president of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, who is already preparing to build the acoustic stadium in Gávea. The structure here on the island is beautiful, a spectacle," praised Crivella.

This stadium on Ilha do Governador is not a definitive solution to Flamengo's stadium problem. The club intends to have its own stadium and we already have the approval of the City Hall to start a project in Gávea. But Flamengo also intends to participate in the management of Maracanã. The important thing is that these are not mutually exclusive projects.

I'm sure that Flamengo fans and the people of Rio will like this temporary solution. We did the best we could here. It's a comfortable stadium that meets all safety requirements. There's no possibility of putting Flamengo fans at risk. We have the best pitch in Brazil and we can have top-quality football here. All of us Flamengo supporters are very happy with the step we're taking at this moment.

I am very grateful to Portuguesa, especially to President João Rego, because the partnership with Portuguesa allows us to present a solution to the problem Flamengo had of not having its own home stadium, being forced to travel around Brazil and technically sacrifice its team. 

Flamengo is a responsible club that honors its commitments and follows the rules. We wanted to inaugurate the stadium earlier, but there was a problem with the rainwater drainage pipes that run under the East stand, which we were unaware of. This forced us to reroute the pipes and caused a delay of about three months, but we have a clear conscience and are happy that today there is no risk to our fans. We carried out a reasonably complex project with all the necessary technical rigor. We had to follow the regulations of all the licensing bodies – Fire Department, GEPE, Urban Planning Department. We are all gathered here witnessing that the stadium is ready and that we could play today. But we will debut on the 14th, against Ponte Preta.

Our intention has always been to alternate games here with others at the Maracanã, according to the estimated attendance. We are experiencing a situation of uncertainty with the Maracanã. Today we have to negotiate each game, and depending on the price they charge us, we play there or not. That's all we have left at the moment. There is no long-term contract. We have to ask the concessionaire how much they charge. In some cases it's unfeasible, as it was against Botafogo. Against Atlético-GO we had more than 30 people and suffered a loss of more than R$ 300. I believe the fans understand this. Ideally, we would play classics at the Maracanã, but depending on the conditions there, if it becomes impossible, we will play here on the island.

We expected to have all the reports by Tuesday. In our understanding, Tuesday goes until midnight. But the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) determined that the reports should arrive there by 19 pm, when the entity's formal business hours ended. Since we couldn't deliver them during the night, we delivered them Wednesday morning and the stadium is fully cleared. Unfortunately, we won't be able to play the game against Botafogo here. We'll be patient and follow the established procedures.

This is a stadium with an important history in Rio de Janeiro. It was here that I saw Doval score his first goal in a Flamengo shirt, when we beat Portuguesa 4-1 in 1969. This place is a stadium, an arena, and a trap all at once (laughs).

We are working in partnership with the city government. Alternatives are being studied to facilitate access for fans to the venue. We are considering setting up meeting points in available parking lots, at Galeão Airport, and in shopping centers. It's also important to mention that Flamengo has a partnership with Expresso Recreio, which will provide exclusive buses for our members departing from the South, North, and West zones, the city center, and Niterói. Furthermore, the city government is working to manage traffic and make life as easy as possible for the residents surrounding the stadium. In 2005, Flamengo played here several times and we didn't have any significant problems. With all the care we are taking, I am certain that this facility will enhance Ilha do Governador and we will not have any major problems.

We will always be improving our fan membership program, and I'm sure that, since this is a stadium with a smaller capacity than where Flamengo usually plays, the fact that fans are part of the program will facilitate their presence here. As I said, it's not a definitive solution, as we would very much like to have a stadium the size of the Maracanã to offer our fan members greater benefits. But, just as they have been by our side in other difficult situations, our fans will not fail us in this case either. Fan members will continue to have priority in purchasing tickets here at Ilha do Retiro.

I would like to thank Rafael Strauch, Vice President of Administration, and Alexandre Wrobel, Vice President of Assets, who were tireless in this story that we began here. Other vice presidents present at the ceremony were also very important in this project: Cláudio Pracownik, Vice President of Finance, Luiz Filipe Teixeira, Vice President of Information Technology, and Daniel Orlean, Vice President of Marketing. I would also like to give a very special thanks to Paulo Dutra, our financial director, who was the greatest hero of this endeavor. He and his team were tireless. I can say with great confidence that off the field we also have a fantastic team.