Avaí U20

Rafinha spent two seasons in Avaí's youth ranks, between 2014 and 2016, before the path took him to Barcelona. Before him it was Zenon who came through the same academy, a midfielder who went on to become an icon at Corinthians and Guarani, but at Avaí he scored the club's first-ever goal in a national championship and was a key figure in the title sides of 1973 and 1975.

The club traces back to a merchant, Amadeu Horna, and a group of young footballers who founded it as Avahy Foot-ball Club, a name taken from the Battle of Avaí; the spelling settled into Avaí only in 1937. The best a Santa Catarina club has managed in Brazil's top flight remains Avaí's own sixth place in 2009.

Money has been the recurring opponent off the pitch. Wage delays surfaced in 2018, and in December 2024 a court approved a judicial reorganisation plan to clear debts of more than 43 million reais over twelve years. By December 2025 a group of creditors had already filed for bankruptcy over a missed instalment, with player lawsuits, including one from goalkeeper César, adding to the pressure. Talks have since opened on turning the club into a shareholding company, and in July 2026 the board voted in favour of an offer from Kactus Capital for 90% of it.

None of that touches the rivalry with Figueirense, contested since 1924 and known simply as the Clássico de Florianópolis — one side of the island against the other, in a city where Avaí plays as Leão da Ilha at the Estádio Aderbal Ramos da Silva, better known locally as the Ressacada.