Vasco da Gama

Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama, (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈklubi dʒi ʁɛˈgatɐʃ ˈvaʃku dɐ ˈgɐ̃mɐ]) also known as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, is a Brazilian professional sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Vasco da Gama. It was founded on August 21, 1898 (although the professional football department started on November 5, 1915), by Portuguese immigrants, and still has a strong fanbase among the Portuguese community of Rio de Janeiro. It is one of the most popular clubs in Brazil, with more than 23 million supporters. Although it competes in a number of different sports, Vasco is mostly known for its football team. It currently plays in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie B, the second tier of Brazilian football league system and in the Campeonato Carioca, the state of Rio de Janeiro's premier state league.

Its charter defines the club as a "sportive, recreative, educational, assistant and philanthropic non-profit organization of public utility".

The home stadium is Sao Januario, with a capacity of 21,880, the third biggest in Rio de Janeiro (after Maracana and Engenhao. Some matches (especially the city derbies) are played at the Maracana (capacity of about 80,000). Vasco play in black shirts with a white diagonal sash that contains a cross pattee, black shorts and black socks.

Vasco became world-famous for forming two of the greatest Brazilian teams ever in the 1940s and 1950s, and after playing in two World Club championships in '90s.