Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas

.The Lone Star club of Rio. A team with origins on the water, legends on the pitch, and a badge that’s become one of the most recognisable symbols in Brazilian football.

Botafogo’s story begins not on a football field, but in a rowing boat. Translated, the team name means Football and Rowing Club. In 1894, a group of young men from the Botafogo neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro founded the Club de Regatas Botafogo. A few years later, in 1904, another group—this time footballers—formed what would eventually become the Botafogo Football Club.

It all began during an algebra class at the Alfredo Gomes College. A group of students had the idea to create a team called the Electro Club. The name didn’t last long—after a suggestion from Dona Chiquitota, grandmother of one of the players, the club adopted the name Botafogo Football Club, officially founded on 18 September 1904. The club's colours—black and white—were chosen in admiration of Juventus, the favourite team of founder Itamar Tavares. Its first badge, designed by Basílio Vianna Jr., was drawn in the Swiss style with a bold BFC monogram. Before long, Botafogo Football Club would rise to become one of Rio’s strongest sides, winning championships in 1907, 1910, 1912, and more.

Though the two Botafogo clubs shared the same name, colours, and neighbourhood, they remained separate—until fate intervened. On 8 December 1942, during a basketball match between the two institutions, Botafogo Football Club player Armando Albano, a respected athlete and Brazil international, collapsed and died at half-time. The tragedy united both clubs in grief. The president of the rowing club, Augusto Frederico Schmidt, famously said:

“At this time, I declare to Albano that his last match ended with the victory of his team. We won’t play the time left on the clock. We all want the young fighter to leave this great night as a winner. This is how we salute him.”

Eduardo Góis Trindade, president of the football club, added:

“Between the matches of our clubs, only one can be the winner: Botafogo!”

Schmidt concluded:

“What else do we need for our clubs to become one?”

And with that, the merger was complete. The Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas was born—united not by business strategy, but by tragedy and shared spirit. The badge changed to mark the occasion. The football club’s monogram was replaced by the rowing club’s iconic lone white star, the Estrela Solitária, originally chosen to represent the planet Venus, as seen by early morning oarsmen on Guanabara Bay. That star still shines at the heart of the badge today.

But the badge is just one part of what makes Botafogo unique.

The club has long been one of Brazil’s most respected institutions, especially during the golden era of the 1950s and 60s. Legends such as Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Jairzinho, and Didi wore the black and white stripes and helped shape the Brazil national team that would dominate world football. In 1968, Botafogo were crowned champions of Brazil, and in 2024, they finally lifted the Copa Libertadores, reclaiming their place at the top of South American football.

The neighbourhood of Botafogo—located between the hills of Mundo Novo, Dona Marta, and São João—is a mostly upper-middle-class district, long serving as a connective hub between the city centre and the coastal zones of Copacabana and Ipanema. Its transformation from farmland in the 18th century to a modern urban centre in the 20th followed the very growth of the city itself. By the late 1800s and early 1900s, with the arrival of gas lighting, animal-drawn trams, and later, modern infrastructure, Botafogo evolved into a core part of Rio’s social and economic fabric.

The name Botafogo itself—literally meaning “Set it on fire” or “Spitfire”—has its roots in Portuguese naval history. One of the men aboard the galleon Botafogo was João de Sousa Pereira Botafogo, a nobleman from the city of Elvas and master gunner responsible for the ship’s powerful artillery. His skill earned him the nickname Botafogo — which he proudly added to his family name. Later, he travelled to Brazil, fought against the French and local Tupi peoples, and was rewarded by the Portuguese Crown with land that would one day carry his adopted name: Botafogo. Over the centuries, the name came to define the neighbourhood, the club, and even a ballroom dance step born in the area.

Today, Botafogo plays at the Estádio Nilton Santos, a modern stadium named after one of its greatest icons. It stands as a testament to a club that has endured ups and downs but never lost its identity. The nickname O Glorioso—The Glorious One—wasn’t given lightly. Botafogo has excelled in rowing, basketball, swimming, athletics, and more. This is a club stitched into the cultural and sporting life of Rio.

A city of mountains and ocean, samba and skyscrapers, wealth and struggle. A city built by migrants—from Portugal, from Africa, from the rural northeast, from across Latin America—all of whom contributed to Rio’s identity, its economy, and its footballing soul.

It’s a story of Rio’s past as a colonial capital, its present as a city of contrasts, and its future as a place where football still matters—deeply.

Let’s get the badge in.