In the survey, the two institutes spoke to 8193 people in 11 capitals of the country. Check out the list of percentage of the 10 clubs most often mentioned by respondents in October only between subscribers of the channel PFC:

1. Flamengo – 13.84%
2. Corinthians – 9.77%
3. Sao Paulo – 9.21%
4. Palmeiras – 8.23%
5. Grêmio – 8.17%
6. Inter – 6.87%
7. Cruzeiro – 6.56%
8. Vasco – 6.46%
9. Atletico-MG – 5.94%
10. Fluminense – 5.55%

The Brazilian media is less dependent on the constant flow of meaningless PR-driven surveys that seem to swell the pages of the press in other countries. It is however equal to most nations in that the findings of a quantitative survey rarely become the focus of discussion beyond those most immediately involved. How nice it has been this week therefore to follow the reaction to the findings of a piece of research conducted by Gallup on behalf of Editora Ática S/A. Not only have the methods and the validity of the research been queried by media commentators but hundreds of Brazilians, mainly males (we assume not statisticians or researchers) have joined the debate about the theoretical underpinning of the research methodology.

On understanding the subject of the research, the reason for the chatter evident on Orkut pages and beyond is perhaps understandable. The research aimed to discover which Brazilian football team has the most fans. This type of study is actually very common in Brazil, but this particular study billed by Gallup as the “Biggest Research in History” differed in that it aimed to take into account the different nature of fan relationships to clubs amongst the Brazilian public.

Topline findings were as follows:
-    Flamengo remain the most supported team in Brazil as is generally accepted and found in most research studies of this type.
-    Following on the heels of Flamengo come Corinthians, Sao Paulo, Palmeiras and Vasco
-    Teams from the south and south east of Brazil are losing their appeal amongst fans outside of their immediate regions
-    – clubs in the interior of Brazil continue to show the biggest increases in support
-    the number of Brazilians who claim not to support a team is falling to just 10% (though still more than the fanbase of any individual team

Comments from fans on various sites (one example can be found here on Orkut) seem to question the validity of the findings…and not surprisingly in many cases reflecting the supposed fortunes of their teams in the results of the research. There are claims of a hoax. Elsewhere the biggest debate seems to be over the decision to focus on the first team supported by respondents rather than allowing them to state a supporting preference for a number of teams. A common comment was that men would only believe the results, the day they were asked to be a respondent in this type of survey.

Much of the media coverage this week in the Brazilian football press has focused on horrific scenes at the end of the match last Sunday between Avai and Criciuma. When a flare thrown into the Criciuma fans exploded leading to a retired 62 year old fan losing his right hand. There have been many attempts to analyse the roots of the violence that’s still exists within elements of Brazilian football support. TWResearch have worked extensively in England exploring this issue with specific reference to the problems of hooliganism associated with elements of England’s fan base. One of the consequences of FA efforts aligned to broader societal shifts was the increasing presence of female football fans within stadia and more broadly amongst the games customer base. The potential for a broader and more societally representative fan base has been lacking in the weeks media debate here in Brazil. We have reported elsewhere on the continued development of the women’s game in South America and will continue to do so. However, when female officials are accused of throwing matches due to their menstrual cycle by Senior Club Officials and subsequently attacked in public (as happened last year after a game involving Botafogo and Figueirense) , one wonders how the game will attract increasing numbers of women and families into stadiums. On a related topic of violence in football, another issue close to our hearts is the relationship between parental (mis)behaviour on the touchlines and its implications to football at he grassroots level. This clip from the ITV website in the UK (sorry no imbed available) emphasises the global nature of this problem and we hope to have more to follow this up from the Americas soon…

Man smokes pipe at football match.

As spotted yesterday during Avai’s 4-0 demolition of Ituno.

A second football launch this week saw ESPN via Neogama/BBH employ a very Nike Scoripion’esque graffiti style press campaign for its ongoing football coverage of overseas leagues in 2007/8. The campaign which will start to be visible in the Brazilian media and urban centers as of early 2008 focuses heavily on Ronaldinho and Manchester United to promote the channels coverage of overseas leagues and the UEFA Champions League. More details on portaldapropoganda.com

In the week that Brazil won the bid to host the World Cup in 2014 most of the press coverage in the country has focused on the nations ability to host the tournament, the potential political fallout and the real bidding war within Brazil to be a host city for the tournament. Off the field football continues to dominate in recent Brazilian sports marketing campaigns. A couple of nice examples we picked up on last week. Firstly Adidas, as the official sponsors of the Beach Football World Cup 2007 currently taking place in Rio. The campaign, designed by Age, utilises the talents of local sand artist Roger Rodrigues is very localised based around a small number of posters located in Rio stores during the tournament and focusing on the official ‘Teamgeist’ ball. For more details see here…

More details here Link:

http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/esporte/ult92u333445.shtml

TWResearch have extensive experience of the development of the women’s game in Europe. Click here for more details. We will be continuing to follow developments here in Brasil and posting more from our interviews with young players and officials here in the near future.