Botafogo Futebol Clube (PB)

For other uses, see Botafogo (disambiguation).

Botafogo Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Botafogo da Paraíba, Botafogo-PB or simply Botafogo is a Brazilian professional club based in João Pessoa, Paraíba founded on 28 September 1931.

Botafogo-PB

Full name	Botafogo Futebol Clube
Nicknames	Belo (Beautiful) Alvinegro da Estrela Vermelha (White and Black of the Red Star) Xerifão do Nordeste (Northeast's Big Sheriff) Tricolor da Maravilha do Contorno (Threecolour of the Wonder Contour)
Founded	28 September 1931; 94 years ago (1931-09-28)
Ground	Almeidão
Capacity	19,000
President	Roberto Burity
Head coach	Antônio Carlos Zago
League	Campeonato Brasileiro Série C Campeonato Paraibano
2024 2024	Série C, 5th of 20 Paraibano, 2nd of 10
Website	botafogopb.com.br
Home colors Away colors

Botafogo is the top ranked team from Paraíba in CBF's national club ranking, at 51st overall.^[1]

History

On September 28, 1931, the club was founded at Centro de João Pessoa, João Pessoa city,^[2] by Beraldo de Oliveira, Manoel Feitosa, Livonete Pessoa, José de Melo, Edson de Moura Machado and Enock Lins, all of them Botafogo of Rio de Janeiro supporters.^[3] Beraldo de Oliveira was chosen as the club's first president.^[4]

In 1932, Botafogo played its first match, against São Bento. The Liga Suburbana match ended in a 2–2 draw.^[4]

In 1936, Botafogo won its first professional title, the Paraíba state championship.^[5]

In 1976, the club disputed the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A for the first time. Botafogo was eliminated in the second round, and finished in 25th position.^[6]

In 1985, Botafogo finished 19th in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, which is the club's all-time best position in the competition.^[7]

In 1989, Botafogo disputed Copa do Brasil's first edition. The team was knocked out in the first round by Cruzeiro, after two draws, on the away goals rule (the first leg, in João Pessoa was 1–1, and the second leg, in Belo Horizonte, ended 0–0).^[8]

The 2011 season saw Botafogo, for the first time in their history, the club advanced to the Copa do Brasil's second round after beating Vitória 3–1 on aggregate. Belo was knocked out in the second round by Caxias, after losing 4–1 on aggregate. Botafogo's first national title is the Série D, which was won in 2013, when they beat Juventude in the final.

Stadium

Estádio José Américo de Almeida Filho

Main article: Almeidão

Botafogo's home matches are usually played at Almeidão stadium, which has a maximum capacity of 40,000 people. Its official name is Estádio José Américo de Almeida Filho.^[9]

The club also owns a training ground named CT Maravilha do Contorno. The total training ground area is 10 ha.^[2]

Rivals

Botafogo's most important rivals are Treze, Campinense and Auto Esporte.^[10] The João Pessoa derby between Botafogo and Auto Esporte is commonly known as Botauto.^[11]

Current squad

As of 9 June 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  BRA Saulo 2 DF  BRA Lucas Lopes 3 DF  BRA Reniê 4 DF  BRA Wendel Lomar 5 MF  BRA Marcelo Gama 6 DF  BRA Sidcley 7 FW  BRA Rafinha 8 MF  BRA Bruno Leite 9 FW  BRA Danilo Mariotto 10 MF  BRA Antonio Falcão 11 FW  BRA Gustavo Ramos 12 GK  BRA Wallace 14 MF  BRA Igor Maduro 15 MF  BRA Natham 16 FW  BRA Henrique Dourado 17 MF  BRA Kawan 19 FW  BRA Rodrigo Alves 20 MF  BRA Thallyson

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 DF  BRA Erick 23 DF  BRA Igor Ribeiro 25 FW  BRA Dayvison Moskito 26 MF  BRA João Pedro Iseppe 27 DF  BRA Evandro (on loan from Madureira) 28 FW  BRA Luis Miguel (on loan from Vitória) 30 FW  BRA Guilherme Santos 32 DF  BRA Igor Lopes 33 DF  BRA Raphael Carvalho 34 DF  BRA Marcelo Augusto 37 GK  BRA Guilherme Castellani — DF  BRA Diego Ferreira — DF  BRA Mateus Rodrigues — DF  BRA Ronaldo — MF  BRA Riquelmo — MF  BRA Caio Garcia (on loan from Flamengo) — FW  BRA Kauê Canela (on loan from Fortaleza)

Other sports

Besides football, Botafogo also has other sports sections, such as futsal^[12] and basketball.^[13]

Logo

The club's logo was inspired by Botafogo of Rio de Janeiro one. However, Botafogo da Paraíba's star is red. The star is red because, in 1976, the radio announcer Ivan Tomaz decided that the club's logo should have the same colors of Paraíba state flag, black and red.^[14]

Club colors

Botafogo's colors are red, black and white.^[15]

Nickname

The club is nicknamed Belo, meaning beautiful in Portuguese. This nickname was created by Antônio de Abreu e Lima, a club's counselor, after the club scored a goal considered very beautiful by him.^[14]

Mascot

Botafogo da Paraíba's mascot is a sheriff.^[3]

Honours

Official tournaments

National
Competitions	Titles	Seasons
Campeonato Brasileiro Série D	1	2013
State
Competitions	Titles	Seasons
Campeonato Paraibano	30	1936, 1937, 1938, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019
Copa Paraíba	1‹The template Smallsup is being considered for deletion.› s	2010

•   record
• ‹The template Smallsup is being considered for deletion.› ^s shared record

Others tournaments

Inter-state

• Torneio Paraíba-Pernambuco (2): 1953, 1967
• Torneio Rio Grande do Norte-Paraíba (2): 1954, 1964

State

• Torneio Início da Paraíba (15): 1937, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1949, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1970, 1978, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1992

Runners-up

• Copa do Nordeste (1): 2019
• Campeonato Paraibano (22): 1935, 1940, 1950, 1952, 1956, 1965, 1971, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2024, 2025
• Copa Paraíba (3): 2006, 2009, 2012

Women's Football

• Campeonato Paraibano de Futebol Feminino (6): 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020