Fortaleza E.C.

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.

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).

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

Club structure

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 de Castro Santos (1918-1920)

João Gentil (1920-1923)

Eurico Salgado Duarte (1923-1924)

Pedro Riquet Nogueira (1925-1926)

Francisco Luís de Oliveira (1927-1928)

Lafayette Tapioca (1929)

Antônio de Pádua Freire (1930-1932)

Antenor Vale (1933-1934)

Osvaldo Moreira Lima (1935-1936)

João Ramos César de Vasconcelos (1937)

Heitor Ribeiro (1938)

Meton Borges (1938)

Demócrito Freire (1938)

Francisco Araújo (1939-1940)

José Milton Holanda Pimentel (1940)

Pedro Riquet Nogueira (1940)

Capitão Luís Clóvis de Oliveira (1940-1941)

Adriano Rodrigues Martins (1941)

Luís Abner (1941-1942)

Edmar Vilar de Queiróz (1942)

Ivan César de Vasconcelos (1942-1943)

Agapito dos Santos Sátiro (1943-1944)

Current squad

As of 12 September 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Youth team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Staff

Current staff

As of 8 December 2025.

Honours

Official tournaments

s shared record

Others tournaments

Panamaribo Cup (1): 1962

Torneio Início do Torneio de Integração Nacional (1): 1971

Copa Cidade de Natal (1): 1946

Zona Norte-Nordeste da Taça Brasil (2): 1960, 1968

Torneio Início do Ceará (12): 1925, 1927, 1928, 1933, 1935, 1948, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1977

Winners

Copa Sudamericana (1): 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 Runner-up 1995

Copa do Brazil: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998

Supercopa do Brazil: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998

Copa Libertadores: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998

Recopa Sudamercana: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998

Copa Sudamercana: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998

Supercopa Sudamercana; 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998

FIFA club world cup: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 Runner-up: 1995

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (2): 1960, 1968, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 Runner-up 1998

Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (2): 2002, 2004

Campeonato Brasileiro Série C (1): 2017

Copa do Nordeste (1): 2026

Campeonato Cearense (28): 1922, 1925, 1929, 1936, 1941, 1944, 1950, 1958, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1997, 2002, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2024, 2025

Copa Fares Lopes (1): 2017

Women's Football

Campeonato Cearense de Futebol Feminino (4): 2010, 2020, 2022, 2025