Maracanã stadium tour and match days in Rio

At a glance

What the stadium is

The Maracanã was built for the 1950 World Cup. Its official name is Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho.

Two finals made it famous. In 1950 Uruguay beat Brazil 2-1 in the deciding match, when Brazil needed only a draw. In 2014 Germany beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time, with a goal by Mario Götze. At the 2016 Olympics, Brazil drew 1-1 with Germany in the men’s football final and won 5-4 on penalties.

The next big date is the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Maracanã hosts the opening match, the second semi-final and the final. FIFA says it will then be only the third stadium to host both a men’s and a women’s World Cup final, after Råsunda in Sweden and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Since June 2024 the stadium has been run by a consortium of Flamengo and Fluminense under a 20-year state concession that also covers the Maracanãzinho arena.

The Maracanã stadium tour

You do not need a match to get inside. The Tour Maracanã takes you behind the scenes of the stadium. The official Tour Maracanã website publishes the current route, duration, guide languages, hours, tickets and match-day rules, so we check them for your date and compare it with the fixture list.

Going to a match

Flamengo and Fluminense play their home games here. When they meet, the derby is called the Fla-Flu. Tickets come from the home club, online.

How it worked at Fluminense games in October 2026:

1. Club members (sócios) buy first and the general sale opens later. For the Libertadores semi-final on 14 October 2026, members started on 5 October and the public on 9 October.
2. Before buying, each fan registers their face on the club’s biometric site. Entry is by facial recognition only, in every sector.
3. At checkout you give the holder’s name, document and date of birth. Brazilians use a CPF, foreigners a passport or DNI. A photo of a document is not accepted.
4. At the gate you show the original photo ID.

Other rules from the same club pages: outside food and drinks are not allowed, and the gates close at the start of the second half, with no refund if you arrive late. Children up to 6 go through the turnstile with a guardian holding a ticket in the same sector; children 7 to 11 need an adult over 18 in the same sector.

Flamengo publishes its own rules for each match. Our team checks them for your game. For match-day help, see football tickets at Maracanã.

If you do not support either side, a mixed sector is the easy choice. At the 11 October 2026 derby the mixed sectors were Leste, Oeste and Maracanã Mais.

Getting there

Rei Pelé/Maracanã station is on metro Line 2 (Pavuna to Botafogo), between Triagem and São Cristóvão. Line 1 runs from Uruguai in Tijuca to General Osório in Ipanema. From Copacabana or Ipanema you take Line 1 and change to Line 2 on the shared section. MetrôRio accepts contactless card payment at the gates.

On a match night a car is often easier for the way back. A private driver drops you near your gate and waits at a meeting point you agree on before kick-off.

Safety on match day

The U.S. State Department rates Brazil at Level 2, “Exercise increased caution” (advisory of 31 August 2026). The UK FCDO advises against using your phone in the street and on trains, especially between 4pm and 9pm, and recommends booking cars through an official app and checking the registration. For more official advice, see our page on safety tips for Rio. In an emergency, call 190 (police), 192 (ambulance) or 193 (fire brigade).

How we help

We add Maracanã to a private tour of Rio with a guide who speaks your language, or book it as a short stop on its own. The tour fits well with a morning at Christ the Redeemer. For a match, we help you pick the game and the sector, explain the face registration and buy tickets only through the club’s official channels at face value. Terms and payment are set out in the proposal; you pay nothing before you confirm. Tours and transfers can be cancelled at no cost up to 48 hours before.

What to tell us in your request

• Your dates in Rio
• Stadium tour, match, or both
• Which club or game, if you have one in mind
• How many people, and children’s ages
• Where you are staying
• Whether you want a guide, a driver, or both
• The language your guide should speak