RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Vasco is the club with the largest number of members in Brazil. The impressive climb in the ranking due to the discount campaign in the price of membership that was launched eight days ago led the club to reach on Tuesday the mark of over 139,719 members. It overtook Flamengo, which had headed the list, with one fewer member.
As the number grows by the minute, reporting it with accuracy is difficult. Flamengo has 139.700 members at the moment. Vasco, for instance, exceeded the 139,800-mark, and is still counting…
These are data taken from the official websites of both Flamengo (nrnoficial.com.br) and Vasco (sociogigante.com). In both, there is a real-time count of the number of members.
Earlier on Tuesday, participating in the program “Redação SporTV,” Alexandre Campello, president of Vasco, said that overtaking Flamengo in the ranking would be a matter of time.
With a 50 percent discount on some plans, fans may join for a monthly fee of R$7.98 (US$2) – the promotion is valid for the first six months, with the price reverting to its normal level after this period. Campello disclosed that there was an increase of almost R$2 million in revenue from members due to the wave of membership.
13,300 members per day
In October, GloboEsporte.com conducted a membership survey of the main Brazilian clubs, and Vasco was ranked eighth, with 31,600 members. As a result of the support of its fans, it left behind Sport, Bahia, Corinthians, Grêmio, Atlético-MG, Internacional and Flamengo.
To beat the 139,700-mark in eight days, Vasco needed to gather 13,300 new members a day. Its ranks, therefore, have more than quadrupled since the start of the promotion. The boom was also due to the involvement of players, such as Leandro Castán and Thalles, former club athletes and artists on social media.
Source: Globo Esporte