Esporte Clube Bahia, commonly known as Bahia, was founded on January 1, 1931, and is a Brazilian professional football club based in Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia. The club's original motto was "Born to Win," and in its first year, it won the Torneio Inicio league championship and the Bahia state championship, becoming the most popular team in northeastern Brazil a few years later.
Bahia has won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A championship twice, defeating Santos, which had stars like Pelé, in the 1959 final, and winning against Internacional in 1988. From 1951 to 2007, Bahia played its home games at the Fonte Nova Stadium, which has a capacity of 66,080. In 2007, part of the stadium collapsed, resulting in the deaths of 7 fans.
In 1997, Bahia drew 0-0 with Juventude at the Fonte Nova Stadium, marking the first time in the club's history that they were relegated to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B. In 2000, due to bribery scandals involving other clubs, the team was invited to return to the Série A. After the sponsoring bank went bankrupt in 2002, the team's performance declined, leading to a second relegation to Série B in 2003 and their first drop to Série C in 2005. In 2007, Bahia finished in the top four of the Série C, and in 2008, they were promoted to Série B.
After fans took over the club in 2013, they implemented a leftist and socially engaged political stance, focusing on issues such as racism, while also lowering ticket prices, increasing revenue, and repaying debts. The team won state championships in 2012, 2014, and 2015, and in 2023, they claimed their 50th state championship. In December 2022, City Football Group announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the club.