Inter de Limeira secured promotion to Brazil’s Serie B on Sunday, roughly six weeks after an investor group fronted by Ronaldo Nazario and Roberto Carlos was approved to take control of the club. The São Paulo state side will play in the second tier for the first time since 1991.

The promotion came in strange circumstances. Inter were trailing 2-0 to group winners Ferroviária at the Arena da Fonte Luminosa in Araraquara when the match was interrupted at half-time on Saturday and completed the following day, with Lucas Rodrigues and Thiago on the scoresheet for the hosts. The crucial result, though, was down in Santa Catarina, where Brusque needed a win over Paysandu to overtake Inter in Group C. That match had been halted on Saturday after structural safety problems were identified in the away end at the Estádio Augusto Bauer, and when it resumed on Sunday it finished 1-1.

Level on points with Inter, Brusque went out on tiebreakers. Ferroviária, Inter de Limeira, Maringá and Santa Cruz are the four clubs promoted to Serie B for 2027.

The club was quick to post on Instagram.

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“THE LION HAS RISEN! INTER DE LIMEIRA ARE IN THE CAMPEONATO BRASILEIRO SERIE B!”

Ronaldo reposted the message to his own Instagram Story within minutes.

“Vamoo,” he wrote, alongside three clapping-hands emojis.

An R$450m takeover six weeks ago

The investor group’s purchase of 80 percent of Inter de Limeira’s SAF, Brazil’s corporate vehicle for football clubs, was approved by the association’s assembly on 1 September 2026 by 53 votes to one, well clear of the two-thirds threshold required. The deal is worth up to R$450 million (£64m/$87m), and the proposal includes further investment that could reach €75.4 million over 10 years.

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The consortium is led by Italian investor Enrico Ambrogini and includes Saudi Prince Abdullah bin Saad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud alongside the two Brazil World Cup winners. Twenty percent of the SAF remains with the parent association, Associação Atlética Internacional de Limeira.

Ambrogini laid out the financial plan ahead of the vote.

“My initial proposal involved a capital injection of R$ 10 million within 15 to 18 months, assuming all club debts,” he said, with returns projected to start from year six.

A long way back for the Lion of Paulista

The club, founded in 1913 in the São Paulo state city of Limeira and nicknamed Leão da Paulista, has not been a second-tier side since 1991. Its last significant trophy was the 1988 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B title, which earned promotion to Serie A for the following season, and the 1986 Campeonato Paulista remains the club’s only state championship.

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The investors’ long-term pitch to the association targets a return to Serie A within eight seasons. Promotion to Serie B was step one, and it has come at the first attempt.

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