Estádio Nilton Santos
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Formerly: Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, Engenhão
The athletics track is the thing to understand about Estádio Nilton Santos .
The other constant is the name. Nílton Santos, the Botafogo defender, died in November 2013; permission to rename the ground in his honour came in February 2015, and a decree formalised it in February 2017.
Botafogo took a twenty-year lease from the start and have been there ever since. For three seasons, from 2010–11 to 2012–13, they had company: Flamengo and Fluminense moved in while the Maracanã was rebuilt for the World Cup and the Olympics. Brazil have used it too, for qualifiers and for Copa América matches.
Since April 2023 the football has been played on synthetic turf — a FIFA Quality Pro system, 45mm fibres over a cork underlayer. Carlos Porto drew the stadium and the city built it, between 2003 and 2007, for R$380 million.
The record crowd still belongs to the first match. On 30 June 2007, 43,810 watched Botafogo beat Fluminense 2–1 in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.
Who plays here
-
Botafogo U17
26 matches
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Capital TO U20
22 matches
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União TO U20
2 matches
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Batalhão Fc U20
1 match
Recent matches here
| Date | Match | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Sep | Botafogo U17 — RB Bragantino U17 | 0:3 |
| 9 Sep | União TO U20 — Miranda Do Norte U20 | 2:1 |
| 8 Sep | Botafogo U17 — Vasco U17 | 4:2 |
| 5 Sep | Botafogo U17 — Bahia U17 | |
| 25 Aug | Botafogo U17 — Juventude U17 | 4:1 |
| 23 Aug | Capital TO U20 — Sobradinho U20 | 1:0 |
| 17 Aug | Botafogo U17 — Flamengo RJ U17 | 2:2 |
| 8 Aug | Capital TO U20 — Planaltina DF U20 | 5:0 |