Rio De Janeiro Weekend Rivalry Games See Low Attendance Figures

The fans of the four Rio de Janeiro football clubs "are appearing in very little numbers" in stadiums, according to Eduardo Tironi of LANCE NET. Carioca (name given to people from Rio) futebol has the second and fourth best teams in the Brasileiro in Fluminense and Vasco, respectively, but their weekend clash at the Engenhão only drew 9,729 people, "the worst attendance of all the regional rivalry games over the weekend." Botafogo has recently acquired Seedorf and Flamengo has "the largest fan-base in Brazil," but their Sunday game in the same Engenhão stadium had 19,471 in attendance. That number is less than both of the São Paulo weekend rivalry games. Palmeiras vs. Santos drew 21,171 and Corinthians vs. São Paulo 34,843. The reasons for the low attendance in Rio can be attributed to expensive tickets and people preferring the Maracanã, which is undergoing renovations. After seeing the weekend attendance, "it can almost be said that cariocas prefer the Maracanã than the football of their teams" (LANCE NET, 8/26).