The Nation in the United Nations transformed Flamengo’s 45 million fans into a symbolic cultural nation, using football as a new platform for identity, diplomacy and global recognition.

Led by Zico, the campaign invited supporters to sign a petition asking the UN to acknowledge Flamengo as the world’s first symbolic-cultural nation. The movement connected the club’s ESG initiatives to all 17 Sustainable Development Goals and led Flamengo to join the UN’s Football for the Goals program.

With no media investment, fans became the campaign’s distribution network. The initiative gathered 500,000 signatures in 72 hours, generated over 101.8 million impressions, increased international coverage by more than 500% and strengthened Flamengo’s global brand presence.