Fortaleza Esporte Clube

Fortaleza Esporte Clube is a Brazilian multi-sport club based in Fortaleza, capital of the state of Ceará. Founded in 18 October 1918, primarily a football club, is active in other sports such as futsal, handball and basketball. The club's colors are red, blue and white.

Fortaleza is one of the most successful football clubs in the Brazilian Northeast, having won 46 state league titles and 3 Copa do Nordeste titles. It is placed by surveys as the second biggest fan base in the Northeast, behind only EC Bahia. Its biggest rival is Ceará SC, and clashes between them are called Clássico-Rei (Classic-King).

History
On 23 February 1912, Alcides Santos founded a club called Fortaleza, and participated shortly after in the founding of the Stella Foot-Ball Club. Finally, on 18 October 1918, Fortaleza Sporting Club was born, the first denomination of the Fortaleza Esporte Clube. Its colors represent the colors of the French flag, since the founder spent time in France and decided to put the colors of the European country in the Brazilian club.

In 1920, they participated in the foundation of the Associação Cearense de Desportos. That same year they got their first Cearense Championship title.

In 1951, the Municipality of Fortaleza decided to renovate the Presidente Vargas Stadium. The idea of having a private stadium was reborn in the board since it had its own stadium during the 1920s.

In 1957, the club acquired from the land in Bairro do Pici from Mrs. Hedwing, which during the Second World War was where the American military base was in Fortaleza, called Post Command ( Command Post), hence the name Pici, transfers it to the Club of Gentilândia in exchange for the new neighborhood. It changed its name to Leão do Pici, a reference to the neighborhood where the Parque dos Campeonatos is located.

The Alcides Santos Stadium opened its doors in June 1962, beating Usina Ceará in the inaugural match.

After finishing in 4th place in the 2021 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the club qualified for the Copa Libertadores for the first time in history. In 2023 they finished 2nd place in the Copa Sudamericana, losing to L.D.U. Quito.

Uniform

 * Home Uniform: Blue and red shirt with blue pants and white socks.
 * Away uniform: White and blue shirt with blue pants and blue socks.

Statistics

 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
 * Player with most goals scored: Rinaldo (23 goals)
 * Player with most goals scored in a single tournament: Rinaldo (16 goals), in 2005
 * All divisions taken in consideration
 * Player with most goals scored: Rinaldo (43 goals); in 2004 (14), 2005 (16), 2006 (11) and 2008 (2)
 * Topscorers in national competitions (cups and leagues)
 * Bececê (7 goals), Taça Brasil 1960
 * Rinaldo (14 goals), Campeonato Brasileiro Série B 2004
 * Best Série A right-back (Bola de Prata award): Louro, in 1974

Mascot
Fortaleza's mascot is a lion named Juba. In the 1960s, a journalist suggested that a lion be used as the club's mascot, inspired by the city of Fortaleza's General Tibúrcio Square, popularly known as Praça dos Leões (Square of Lions).

Headquarters
The headquarters of Fortaleza lies in the district of Pici, which is a complex consisting of buildings named after prominent figures of the club throughout their history.

Stadiums
Fortaleza play their games at the 8,300-seater Estádio Alcides Santos, as well as Estádio Castelão, which can hold 63,903 supporters and Estádio Presidente Vargas with a capacity of 20,600.

Past presidents

 * Alcides Santos
 * João Gentil
 * João César
 * Ney Rebouças
 * Aírton França Rebouças
 * Péricles Mulatinho
 * José Atanásio dos Santos
 * José Nestor Falcão
 * Osvaldo Azim
 * Ezequiel Menezes
 * Jorge Mota (1999—03)
 * Clayton Alcântara Veras (2004)
 * Ribamar Bezerra (2005—06)
 * Marcello Desidério (2007—08)
 * Lúcio Bonfim (2008—09)
 * Renan Vieira (2010)
 * Paulo Arthur Magalhães (2011)
 * Osmar Baquit (2011—14)
 * Jorge Mota (2015—17)
 * Luis Eduardo Girão (2017)
 * Marcelo Paz (2017—2023)
 * Alex Santiago (2024—present)

National

 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série B
 * Winners (1): 2018

Regional

 * Copa do Nordeste
 * Winners (3): 2019, 2022, 2024
 * Torneio Norte-Nordeste
 * Winners (1): 1970

State

 * Campeonato Cearense
 * Winners (46): 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1933, 1934, 1937, 1938, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1953, 1954, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
 * Copa dos Campeões Cearenses
 * Winners (2): 2016, 2017