Maracanã Stadium bridle in home teams’ hands

Article posted by Coliseum, November 12^th, 2020

Image: MJR Group Ltd./Coliseum

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A football clubs Flamengo and Fluminense have agreed to a further extension of their management contract for Rio de Janeiro’s (Brazil) iconic Maracanã Stadium.

The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, commonly referred as Brasileirão, is a Brazilian professional league for men’s football clubs. At the top of the Brazilian football league system, it is the country’s primary football competition.

Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, commonly referred to as Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football team.

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Fluminense Football Club, known simply as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, the State league of Rio de Janeiro.

The two teams have extended the deal with the Rio de Janeiro State Government, which owns the venue, for a further 180 days through to April 30^th next year, as per media reports.

In April 2019, Flamengo and Fluminense agreed to a six-month deal to take over the reins of Maracanã Complex, which includes the stadium and the Maracanãzinho arena. The deal was struck after the Rio Government announced that it would regain control of the 78,000-seat stadium following the annulment of a contract with its private administrators.

The Government stated at the time that it was owed around BRL38m (£5.1m/€5.7m/$6.7m) by Maracanã SA, the group that used to operate the venue. This group was led by the Odebrecht conglomerate and operated the stadium from 2017 after securing a 35-year contract.

Odebrecht S.A. is a Brazilian conglomerate, headquartered in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, consisting of diversified businesses in the fields of engineering, construction, chemicals and petrochemicals.

Flamengo and Fluminense had further extended their contract through to this month and the new agreement is designed to grant the Rio Government additional time as it continues to draw up a tender to secure an operator under another 35-year pact.

Flamengo and Fluminense both play their games at the Maracanã, which underwent major repurposing work to serve as the nucleus of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil.

The venue also staged matches during Rio’s staging of the Olympic Games in 2016, while it will play host to the final of the rescheduled Copa América national team football tournament next summer.

CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship, is the main men’s football tournament contested among national teams from CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation). It is the oldest international football competition, and is the third most watched fixture.

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