December 21 – Rio de Janeiro club Botafogo will keep playing at the Olympic Stadium until 2051 after renewing the venue’s concession.
After months of negotiations between the club and the Rio town hall, Botafogo confirmed that the stadium that hosted the 2016 Rio Olympic Games will remain home for the next three decades. During the pandemic, Botafogo incurred a loss of $1 million, exploiting the stadium. With the new concession, Botafogo wants to better monetise their matches at the stadium.
The club has also struck a partnership with DSFootball, a Japanese company, to scout youth players.
This season, Botafogo won the Serie B and will return to the top flight. In 2020, Botafogo were relegated from the top flight despite the high-profile signings of both Keisuke Honda and Salomon Kalou. The veteran stars failed to ignite the team and instead, the season became a lengthy procession of draws and ultimately a slide to the foot of the table. It was the third time the Rio club were relegated since 2002.
In the ’60s, Botafogo was, alongside Pele’s Santos, one of the best club sides in the world, boosted by two generations of formidable players. First, Garrincha, Didi and Mario Zagallo played their way to greatness with Botafogo before the generation of Jairzinho and Gerson stepped in to flourish and add more silverware, but in recent times the club has not been able to replicate those heights.
Botafogo’s last won the domestic league title in 1995 and the club has never been far away from bankruptcy, burdened by almost €160 million of debts.
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