FLAMENGO: THE MOST LOVED CLUB IN THE WORLD

Lancets

Flamengo has further distanced itself from its rivals in the size of its fan bases and is more than ever the most popular team in Brazilian football.

The situation is revealed by the 3rd LANCE!-Ibope Poll, the most accurate nationwide poll ever conducted in Brazil, which LANCE! published from December 4, 2004, until the 11th of the same year. Rubro-Negro is the first team in the country to reach the 30 million fan mark.

It reached 33 million, which corresponds to 18,1% of the country's 182 million inhabitants, the current population according to estimates by IBGE, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics.\ Six years ago, when the 1st LANCE!-Ibope Poll was carried out, Flamengo had the support of 15,5% of Brazilians. Since 2001, it has risen from 16,3% of the population (in the second survey) to 18,1% in three and a half years.\

Between the first and third surveys, only Mais Querido and Corinthians showed an increase in popular preference above the margin of error of 1,2 percentage points.

Below these two clubs, São Paulo, Palmeiras, and Vasco remain tied. The third group, which includes the other major clubs, is led by Cruzeiro and Grêmio.

Another revealing fact is that the percentage of Brazilians who don't support any team continues to decline. In this survey, they reach 22,1%, which remains higher than the number of fans of any other team. But the difference for Flamengo has fallen by more than 65% compared to the first survey.

This survey is the most accurate, comprehensive, and most reflective of Brazil's current situation ever conducted by Ibope at the request of LANCE!. The first, published in October 1998, interviewed 3 Brazilians from across the country, all aged 16 and over. The second, published in April 2001, interviewed 7.700 people aged 7.207 and over, but only residents of the nine major metropolitan areas. This is the first fan survey to cover the entire country and XNUMX people aged XNUMX and over.

Check out the biggest fan bases in Brazil:

POSITION\ CLUB\ NUMBER OF FANS\

1st\ Flamengo\ 33 million\

2nd\ Corinthians\ 24 million\

3rd\ São Paulo\ 13,3 million\

4th\ Palmeiras\ 11,8 million\

5th\ Vasco da Gama\ 10 million\

6th\ Cruzeiro\ 6,7 million\

7th\ Grêmio\ 6,4 million\

8th\ Santos\ 4,9 million\

9th\ International\ 4,7 million\

10th\ Atlético-MG\ 3,6 million\

11th\ Botafogo\ 2,7 million\

12th\ Fluminense\ 2,2 million\

13th\ Bahia\ 2 million\

14th\ Sport Recife\ 1,8 million\

14th\ Victory\ 1,8 million\

16th\ Rowing\ 1,3 million\

17th\ Paysandu\ 1,1 million\

18th\ Atlético-PR\ 900 thousand\

18th\ Santa Cruz\ 900 thousand\

20th\ Brazilian Team\ 700 thousand\

21st\ Coritiba\ 500 thousand\

22nd\ Youth\ 400 thousand\

23rd\ America-MG\ 200 thousand\

Fla-dominance grows in Rio

According to the new LANCE!-Ibope poll, Flamengo, the national leader, has increased its dominance in Rio: its fan base is now larger than that of Vasco, Fluminense, and Botafogo combined. More than half of Rio's club fans are red and black. And Flamengo fans represent almost half of the state's total population.

In 1998, the first LANCE!/Ibope survey showed that Flamengo's fans were equal to the sum of all others and represented 39% of the state's population.

But in the last six years, its fan base in the state has grown by 23,8%. Meanwhile, Vasco's fan base grew by 16,8%, while the number of Tricolor and Botafogo fans decreased during the period (the black-and-white reduction is within the 1,2% margin of error).

Thus, the 2004 LANCE!-Ipobe survey shows that Flamengo dominates 48,3% of the state's population, or 55,8% of those who own a club. That's 7,7 million people.

– This force will pay our bill – said Fla's president, Márcio Braga, excited.

The increased dominance of Flamengo and Vasco is not the only new development: the polarization between Flamengo and Vasco has intensified, with Fluminense and Botafogo losing ground. In the survey, Vasco has 18,7% (3 million people) of the population, a percentage that exceeds the total of Flamengo and Botafogo fans (17,4%). Together, the two fan bases saw a 4,6% drop.

"The tendency to polarize isn't new. But this huge difference between Vasco and Flamengo is a distortion," said Vasco president Eurico Miranda.

The survey brings a third revelation: Botafogo's fans have surpassed Fluminense's in Rio, although technically the two are tied. Botafogo fans now account for 9,2% (1,5 million people) – compared to 10,2% in the previous survey – and Fluminense fans account for 8,2% (1,3 million people) – compared to 12% six years ago.

"During this period, we didn't win any titles and only went down to the third division. All of this has an impact. But there should be a reversal with the current idols," assessed Fluminense president David Fischel.

Botafogo president Bebeto de Freitas avoided analyzing the numbers, especially because he did not anticipate a positive result.

"It's been a very bad period for Botafogo (the last six years). This is a temporary reflection," the director stated.

Check out the size of the fans in Rio de Janeiro:

POSITION\ CLUB\ NUMBER OF FANS\

1st\ Flamengo\ 7,7 million\

2th\ Vasco da Gama\ 3 million\

3th\ Botafogo\ 1,5 million\

4th\ Fluminense\ 1,3 million\

5th\ São Paulo\ 80 thousand\

The people are increasingly Flamengo

In the early 80s, when Brazilians' incomes were less depressed, street cleaner Renato Luiz Felício Loureço—known as Sorriso—frequented the Maracanã stadium to cheer on Zico's Flamengo. The story of the street cleaner who sambas behind the samba schools every year is a portrait of the Flamengo fans.

– Everyone in my house is a Flamengo fan.

Larger in most sectors of the population, Flamengo fans are even more representative among the working classes. And it's in the capital cities, where Renato was born, that most Flamengo fans are located.

Among those who completed only eighth grade, like the street cleaner, 20% of Brazilians are Flamengo supporters. They earn up to five minimum wages, a salary range in which Flamengo supporters have an advantage over other clubs.

"I remember Zico. There's not as much love for the jersey these days," explained Renato, who has retired from playing in stadiums in recent years.

Flamengo's fans are also the first in the Northeast, with 23,6%, and in the Center-West and North, with 29%.

Flamengo dominates the Northeast and North/Central-West

It's no wonder Flamengo fans are called the "red-and-black nation." Their national presence (33 million fans, according to the 3rd LANCE!-Ibope survey) is even more pronounced in the Northeast, North, and Central-West regions.

The research divided this part of Brazil into two blocks: Northeast and North/Central-West.

In the first position, Flamengo has 23,6% of the fan base, representing 11,8 million fans in absolute numbers. Corinthians comes in second, but with a much smaller share (8,7%), followed by Palmeiras, Vasco, and São Paulo. Bahia and Vitória, sixth and seventh place respectively, are the first representatives from the region to appear on the list.

In the second round, Flamengo leads again: 29,8% (7,4 million fans). Once again, Corinthians comes in second, but now followed by Vasco and São Paulo. Before Palmeiras are Remo and Paysandu, from Pará, in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Bahia

The survey also included an exclusive survey for the state of Bahia. Guess who leads the fan rankings? Flamengo! The Rio de Janeiro team has 21,2% of the local fan base, followed by Bahia (14,6%) and Vitória (12,1%).

"This has to do with the penetration of broadcast television outside the capital, Salvador. Flamengo's games are broadcast weekly in the interior of the state. Residents of these cities read about Bahia and Vitória in the newspapers, but they watch Flamengo on TV, which carries much more weight," explains Nilton Maia, Vitória's marketing manager.

Bahia president Marcelo Magalhães agrees with the influence of TV, but claims that the Tricolor club has more fans than Flamengo in the state, despite the numbers showing otherwise.

– Besides being a leader, I'm a politician. I know the state. Bahia is bigger.

Source: Lancenet!