Flamengo has created its first spearfishing team! The sport is licensed to use the club's brand, just like the current American football and teqball teams, for example. The athletes will compete in local and international championships; in March of this year, #FlaPescaSub will compete in the spearfishing World Cup, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro.

The team debuted in style in December 2023, winning the Double Champion and Biggest Fish trophies at the traditional Bruno Hermanny Tournament, held annually by the Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club. President Rodolfo Landim, a practitioner and enthusiast of the sport, attended the debut.

Athlete profile 

Flamengo's spearfishing team is made up of three leading figures in the sport, combining youth and experience:

Francisco Loffredi:

- Pan-American Champion with the Brazilian National Team 

- Three-time champion of the Blue Waters World Cup 

- Former captain of the Brazilian National Team 

- Captain of the American team in the last World Cup 

Kevin Samson:

- Three-time Brazilian champion

- Youngest two-time Brazilian champion in the history of the sport

- Pan-American Champion with the Brazilian National Team

- Individual Pan American runner-up 

Raphael Ambrosio:

- State runner-up of Rio de Janeiro

- Tournament Champion Bruno Hermanny 

- Greatest promise and revelation of Brazilian sub-fishing 

Rio de Janeiro, birthplace of Flamengo and underwater fishing

For many, Rio de Janeiro is the world capital of spearfishing for a number of reasons: it's very popular, with thousands of spearfishers; the entire coastline is ideal for spearfishing; it's the birthplace of the sport in South America, specifically Posto 6 in Copacabana; and it's the hometown of some of the sport's greatest champions, including Bruno Hermanny, the first two-time spearfishing world champion.

Sport, economy and environment

According to SEBRAE, there are 6 million spearfishermen in Brazil, generating R$5 billion annually. Approximately 40 spearguns (diving rifles) are manufactured and sold in Brazil annually; in addition, the two largest diving equipment factories in Brazil are located in Rio de Janeiro.

Spearfishing is the most selective and sustainable fishing technique known to man. It's the only method that allows fishermen to choose exactly what they catch, eliminating the unwanted incidentals that occur in other methods.

Deep-sea fishing and other forms of sport fishing are the greatest antidote to illegal and predatory fishing, since, in addition to generating revenue for preservation and monitoring, they efficiently occupy and patrol the sea, preventing and reporting illegal and abusive practices.

Sport spearfishing is extremely restrictive and targets only abundant, adult, edible, and difficult-to-catch fish. The vast majority of fish permitted by IBAMA are prohibited in sport spearfishing. 

Sport spearfishing is governed by the World Confederation of Underwater Activities (CMAS), founded in the 1950s by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the organization's first president. CMAS is affiliated with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB).