Football team

Botafogo SP U20

Club · Brazil · Paulista - U20

«Tricolor»

160 Matches

69 wins

39 draws

52 losses

287–190 Goals

+97 Difference

1.8 Scored per game

Form W W W D W D

Say the name in Rio de Janeiro and people picture Estádio Nilton Santos. Say it in Ribeirão Preto, in the interior of São Paulo state, and the club sharing that name has no office in common with the Rio side, no shared shareholders, nothing beyond the coincidence of two words. The confusion follows Botafogo Futebol Clube everywhere it plays, and it started with an argument nobody could win: in 1918, three local sides from the Vila Tibério district — União, Paulistano Tiberense and Ideal Futebol Clube — merged into one, and the founders could not settle on what to call it. Someone, tired of the back-and-forth, shouted "Bota fogo" — set it alight — just to end the discussion. The name stuck.

The club plays in red, black and white at Estádio Santa Cruz, which holds 29,292. Its best stretch through the state championship came in 1956, when it went 19 matches without a defeat to win the second division and the Taça dos Invictos that came with it; a Série D title followed in 2015, decades after the club had already reached a Série B final and lost a Paulista final to Santos.

None of that explains why people outside Ribeirão Preto know the shirt. That comes down to the academy, which sent two brothers through its youth ranks and out into the game's history. Sócrates left for the national team he would captain at the 1982 World Cup, but not before lifting the Taça Cidade de São Paulo with Botafogo in 1977. His younger brother Raí played in the club's under-20 side before moving on to Santos and Palmeiras, and went on to captain Brazil to the 1994 World Cup.

Both were products of a club that, in 1918, still had no name until someone lost patience in a room full of men arguing about one.

Latest results

Fixtures and results

26 Sep	Paulista - U20	Osasco Audax U20 A	0:0	D
20 Sep	Paulista - U20	Osasco Audax U20 H	4:1	W
12 Sep	Paulista - U20	EC São Bernardo U20 H	1:1	D
4 Sep	Paulista - U20	Velo Clube U20 A	4:0	W
21 Aug	Paulista - U20	Bandeirante U20 A	4:0	W
14 Aug	Paulista - U20	Novorizontino U20 H	2:1	W

Standing

Brazil Sub-20 Championship Series B

Group stage · U20 Brasileiro, Série B - Grupo B 2026

#	Team	M	W	D	L	Goals	Pts
1	Atlético GO U20	7	5	0	2	13:9	15
2	Coritiba U20	7	4	2	1	16:7	14
3	Sport Recife U20	7	4	1	2	15:9	13
4	Internacional U20	7	4	0	3	14:13	12
5	Vila Nova U20	7	3	2	2	15:16	11
6	Botafogo SP U20	7	3	1	3	15:11	10
7	Paysandu PA U20	7	1	0	6	5:13	3
8	Operário PR U20	7	1	0	6	5:20	3