Supporter membership plans have become a fundamental part of Brazilian football, not only as a source of revenue for clubs, but also as a means of engaging fans and trying to increase attendance at stadiums. Ticket sales are an important part of the revenue of many clubs, especially for higher-profile matches such as championship deciders or derbies against local rivals.
Accordingly, most plans aimed at members of Brazilian teams include benefits when purchasing match tickets, whether through discounts or priority access. But does this really have a greater impact when it comes to filling arenas? Are the clubs with the largest number of supporter members the ones with the highest average attendance?
Which Clubs Have the Largest Memberships in Brazil?
In most cases, being a member of a club in Brazil means establishing a closer, more active relationship with the team you love. By becoming a member, a fan acquires a kind of official connection with the organization, generally by paying a monthly or annual fee. In return, the fan can enjoy a series of exclusive benefits and advantages, such as priority access to tickets, discounts on licensed products, participation in special events, and more.
Brazil has countless teams considered major clubs, with large fan bases and significant representation in various parts of the country. The 14 clubs in the top division of the Brazilian Football Championship with the most members are as follows:
1. Palmeiras - 176,521
2. Inter - 140,000
3. Grêmio - 112,075
4. Atlético-MG - 77,242
5. Flamengo - 77,000
6. Bahia - 65,000
7. Fluminense - 61,592
8. Botafogo - 56,419
9. São Paulo - 55,058
10. Vasco - 45,000
11. Corinthians - 43,000
12. Cruzeiro - 42,767
13. Santos - 40,773
14. Athletico-PR - 40,000
It is worth noting that having many members does not mean having the largest fan base in absolute numbers. It may indicate, however, that the club has a more engaged fan profile with greater participation in the team's daily life. But what is the real impact of this on ticket revenue for Brazilian football teams?
Does Having More Members Mean Having More Fans in Stadiums?
Based on a study published by the consultancy Convocados and reported by Exame magazine about the Brasileirão—which used the methodology of adding together all references to supporter membership plans in the match reports available on the CBF website—we can reach several conclusions:
The overall figures reveal that in the opening rounds of championship matches, approximately 53% of paying attendees were supporter members, while 47% of revenue was generated through ticket offices. These data indicate a fairly even split between revenue from tickets purchased through ticket offices, whether in person or online, and revenue associated with supporter members attending the matches.
Based on this same study, clubs can be divided into four major groups according to the relationship between their number of members and ticket sales.
Teams that are highly dependent on supporter members: This group consists of Corinthians, Atlético Mineiro, Coritiba, and Athletico. Coritiba stands out among them, with supporter members accounting for 91% of its paying attendees, followed by rival Athletico at 79%. Atlético Mineiro and Corinthians also show a high dependence on supporter members, both at 75%.
Coritiba recently had the 15th-highest average attendance, with 21,466 fans, and had around 35,000 members. The team with the highest average attendance in this group was Corinthians, which recorded 38,433 fans per match.
Teams that are more dependent on members: Fortaleza, Bahia, Fluminense, Vasco, Cruzeiro, Internacional, and Grêmio make up the group in which at least half of paying attendees are supporter members. Within this category, Bahia (64%), Fluminense (61%), Fortaleza (59%), Vasco, and Cruzeiro (58%) stand out as the clubs most dependent on supporter members. Internacional (56%) and Grêmio (53%), meanwhile, show slightly lower but still significant dependence.
Teams that are moderately dependent on members: Flamengo, Palmeiras, and Botafogo make up this group. It is noteworthy that two of the four clubs with the highest average paying attendance have a ratio of 45% supporter members to 55% tickets from other sources. This pattern suggests that, for these two clubs, results on the field may be drawing a broader audience to the stadiums that is not necessarily connected to the membership base.
The case of Maracanã is understandable because of its large capacity, which naturally leads to a more diverse audience. Palmeiras, whose arena is managed by W Torre, has approximately 23% of fans purchasing W Torre plans—annual seat subscriptions—in addition to the 45% who are supporter members. Thus, for Palmeiras, around 32% of tickets come from other sources, while 68% are divided between supporter members and W Torre seat subscribers.
Teams that are not very dependent on members: This group consists of São Paulo, América Mineiro, Red Bull Bragantino, Cuiabá, Santos, and Goiás. São Paulo had the second-highest average attendance in the 2023 championship, yet only 17% of that audience consisted of supporter members. Like Maracanã, Morumbi is a high-capacity stadium, but unlike Flamengo, São Paulo has fewer than half as many supporter members as the Rio de Janeiro club reported. This suggests that São Paulo fans may not value supporter membership as highly as fans of other clubs do, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but simply a characteristic of the fan base.
Does the Number of Supporter Members Really Have a Major Impact on Stadium Attendance?
It does have an impact, but that impact depends entirely on the circumstances each club is experiencing. In other words, factors such as fan behavior, team performance, the average ticket price, and even stadium conditions must be understood before reaching a more definite conclusion. In São Paulo's case, for example, even though it ranked ninth in number of members, the team recently achieved the second-highest average attendance. This has much more to do with circumstantial factors related to the team and its supporters than with absolute figures such as the number of members.
The study shows that dividing the teams into four major groups allows us to analyze each club's situation more effectively. One conclusion we can draw is that only in some cases—more precisely, 11 of them (Corinthians, Atlético Mineiro, Coritiba, Athletico, Fortaleza, Bahia, Fluminense, Vasco, Cruzeiro, Internacional, and Grêmio)—can we see a very significant relationship between the number of supporter members and stadium attendance. In the remaining cases, the relationship is weaker.
