Sao Luis

São Luís, the capital of Maranhão, has three clubs that fill the state's football calendar: Moto Club, Sampaio Corrêa and Maranhão Atlético Clube. All three use the Estádio Nhozinho Santos, and any newcomer has to find room beside them. São Luís Futebol Clube did not try to win it on the pitch at first. It began in 2001 as an amateur side, and for more than twenty years worked in amateur leagues and youth categories.

The name says where it came from: São Luís Só Jesus Salva Futebol Clube. "Only Jesus Saves" is part of the title and the motto, and the mascot is the Leão Crente, the Believing Lion.

The academy gave the club its results long before it had a senior side worth the name. The under-17s won the Maranhão state title in 2018, the under-15s followed in 2022, and the under-20s took theirs in 2025. In between, in 2023, the club turned professional and entered the state second division, the Campeonato Maranhense Série B. Its first professional match, against Santa Quitéria, finished 1–1.

The night people still mention came in September 2024. São Luís beat Expressinho 8–0 and, with that result, secured a place in the Série B group stage. The scoreline was heavy for a club barely a year into professional football.

No senior title has come either, in the Série A or the Série B. All the trophies so far belong to teenagers.