52-573: The Campeonato Paulista Série A1 , commonly known as Campeonato Paulista , nicknamed Paulistão , is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo . Run by the Federação Paulista de Futebol (FPF), the league is contested by 16 clubs and typically lasts from January to April. Rivalries amongst four of the best-known Brazilian teams ( Corinthians , Palmeiras , Santos and São Paulo ) have marked
104-498: A pre-season for the Brazilian championship and main season for smaller teams that are not in any national competitions. The state championships run as a parallel league to the main Brazilian Championships . Clubs compete in both Brazilian and state championships simultaneously, and each state league has its own format and divisions with promotion and relegation . Good standings in the tables qualify teams for
156-432: A club "composed of the best amateur players in the kingdom". In order to accomplish this aim, Corinthian took care to avoid playing matches on Saturdays (when players might be playing for other clubs). The first proposed name for the club was the "Wednesday Club", but this was changed to the "Corinthian Football Club" on the suggestion of Harry Swepstone . From the outset, Corinthian supplied large numbers of players to
208-471: A coach (already having three achievements as a player: 3 Cariocas ), having nine titles this century, being tied at the top of this stat with Givanildo , who in turn is also the statewide winner for more different teams in the 21st century (8). Source: RSSSF Brasil Corinthian F.C. Corinthian Football Club was an English amateur football club based in London between 1882 and 1939. Above all,
260-438: A coach, the same Givanildo won 18 state teams for 10 teams in 6 FUs , an absolute record: 7 Paraenses , 5 Pernambucanos , 2 Cearenses , 2 Alagoanos , 1 Baiano and 1 Mineiro . This adds up to 30 state commemorations for Givanildo , an isolated record holder. Another big winner is Vanderlei Luxemburgo , who won 14 times for 9 teams in 5 FUs (9 Paulistas , 2 Mineiros , 1 Carioca , 1 Capixaba and 1 Pernambucano ) as
312-414: A few more years to gain top status. 1957 saw the debut of one of football's greatest players, Pelé . His goals helped Santos to win nine of the next twelve championships. Pelé was the league top scorer in every year between 1957 and 1965 including a record 58 goals in a single season. Santos won numerous competitions at the state, national, regional and international level. Palmeiras's "Academia" teams were
364-754: A gentleman would never commit a deliberate foul on an opponent. So, if a penalty was awarded against the Corinthians, their goalkeeper would stand aside, lean languidly on the goalpost and watch the ball being kicked into his own net. If the Corinthians themselves won a penalty, their captain took a short run-up and gave the ball a jolly good whack, chipping it over the crossbar." Among others, Real Madrid were inspired to adopt Corinthian's white strip, while Sport Club Corinthians Paulista in Brazil and Zejtun Corinthians in Malta adopted their name. Within twenty years
416-559: A new format started in 2015, the 16 teams are divided into four groups of four, however, teams of the same group don't play against each other, totaling 12 rounds. After this, the top two of each group advance to the final stages followed by an eight-team playoff with a single-legged tie in the Quarterfinals, with a tie of the teams of the same group and Semifinals, only the Final happens in a two-leg format. The two lowest-placed teams in
468-431: A new philosophy in club management, where players participate in all decisions with management. São Paulo became the most successful team of the decade, winning the championship in 1980, 1981, 1985, 1987 and 1989. The last years saw the emergence of players such as Müller and Silas (known as the "Menudos do Morumbi") on that team. Internacional from Limeira accomplished a great upset in 1986 by defeating Palmeiras to win
520-578: A regular national championship ( Taça Brasil ) was first established. In recent years, bigger clubs have become increasingly critical of the state leagues, which are often blamed for the lack of space in Brazil's football calendar and have lost most of its old prestige. Smaller clubs, however, are dependent on the state leagues for their financial well-being and largely oppose calls to reduce the number of games or even end state leagues altogether. Because of these championships, some disputes between rivals from
572-427: A state championship, but not all qualify for the national league . The state championships were the first professional competitions formed in Brazil, due economic and geographic reasons and especially long distances between the country's main cities and different states, each of the federative units of Brazil created their own football championship. As such, state leagues were the main competition and even after
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#1732790721831624-575: Is officially called the Campeonato Estadual do Rio de Janeiro The club with the most state champions in Brazil is ABC , with 57 titles from Campeonato Potiguar , which gives it the world record for the most titles in the same competition. This team also holds the record for straight titles, ten (between 1932 and 1941), alongside América Mineiro (which won the Campeonato Mineiro successively between 1916 and 1925). Bahia
676-424: Is the second biggest champion and Paysandu , the third. The players most often champions are the left midfielder Quarentinha , with 12 titles, all for Paysandu , between the 1950s and the 1970s, being the one with the most triumphs in a single state and by the same club; defender Durval , who in 2017 also won his 12th state title, in 5 FUs (each for a single team), among trophies accumulated since 2003 between
728-436: The 1884 FA Cup Final , the Corinthians beat Blackburn 8–1. In 1889, it was written that Corinthians was the only amateur club "which might be pitted against [inaugural Football League champions Preston North End ] with any reasonable hope of success". In the 1904 Sheriff of London Charity Shield against Bury (who had beaten Derby County 6–0 in the 1903 FA Cup final ), Corinthian won 10–3. Corinthian began competing in
780-619: The Campeonato Carioca and not the Campeonato Fluminense ; the second because popular and culturally Carioca is the gentile by which its inhabitants are usually known outside the state of Rio de Janeiro , and the third because there is a traditional club in the state called Fluminense , which could generate complaints from rivals if the championship were so called. Because of this, the Rio state football championship
832-479: The Campeonato Paraibano , Brasiliense , Paranaense , Pernambucano (6) and Paulista (3) championships; the midfielder Givanildo Oliveira , winner of 10 Pernambucanos , as well as a Paulista and a Carioca ; and Jorge Henrique , who is perhaps the player who won in more states, as he was champion 12 times by 8 teams in 8 FUs ( CE , DF , PE (3), PR , RJ , RS (2), SC and SP (2). As
884-1185: The Clássico dos Clássicos and Clássico das Multidões, in Pernambuco ; the Ba-Vi, in Bahia ; the Clássico de Florianópolis and the Clássico do Interior, in Santa Catarina ; Clássico-Rei, in Ceará , between Ceará and Fortaleza , and in Rio Grande do Norte between ABC and América de Natal; the Re-Pa , in Pará ; Clássico das Multidões in Alagoas ; the Super Clássico, in Maranhão ; Rivengo, in Piauí ;
936-462: The England football team . During the 1880s, the majority of England caps were awarded to Corinthian players and, for two England matches against Wales in 1894 and 1895, the entire team consisted of members of the club (a feat achieved by no other club, before or since). Given that the club's constitution declared that it should "not compete for any challenge cup or any prize of any description"
988-453: The FA Cup from the 1922–23 season. They also competed in the 1927 FA Charity Shield against FA Cup winners Cardiff City , losing 2–1 at Stamford Bridge . Among many others: Notable players who have played for Corinthian include: The club's foreign tours are also credited with having popularised football around the world; they were the first club to take the sport outside Europe;
1040-457: The footballmania that converted football from "foreigner's fun" to Brazil's most popular sport. Debates surrounded the issue of whether football should professionalize or remain a purely amateur endeavor. Paulistano, the most trophied team at the time, refused to become professional and departed in 1925 to create the Liga de Amadores de Futebol (League of Football Amateurs) [LAF]. Competition between
1092-729: The 131 matches played before 'The Split' was resolved in January 1914, 72 were played abroad". The club played at various venues including the Queen's Club , The Oval , and the old Crystal Palace . On 12 April 1939, the Corinthians played their last match. They merged with Casuals F.C. to form a new club, Corinthian-Casuals F.C. Sheriff of London Charity Shield : 3 In all, Corinthian had 86 England Internationals (the most of any club), 16 England captains (the most of any club), 12 Welsh Internationals, 8 Scottish Internationals and 2 Irish Internationals. Many players played for Corinthian as
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#17327907218311144-548: The 1907–1914 dispute about professional clubs being admitted to membership of the country Football Associations, Corinthian pledged its allegiance to the Amateur Football Alliance , as did Oxford University and Cambridge University . Corinthian therefore, banned from playing top home opposition by The FA , increased the frequency of their foreign tours; "Corinthian F.C. had little option but to concentrate on their [footballing] missionary work overseas and of
1196-592: The 2000 and 2012 FIFA Club World Champions , SC Corinthians Paulista , are named after the club (indeed, Charles Miller , considered the father of football in Brazil, played for the club in 1892), and the 2015 FIFA Club World Champions, Real Madrid , wear white to this day in their honor. Their tours included South Africa , Canada , the United States , Hungary , Czechoslovakia , Spain , Denmark , Holland , Austria , Sweden , Switzerland , Brazil , Ireland , Jamaica and Germany . During 'The Split',
1248-670: The Associação Paulista de Esportes Atléticos (Paulista Association of Athletic Sports), APEA, which promoted the sport among all social classes. Corinthians and Palestra Itália (a new club founded by Italian immigrants), and Paulistano helped to comprise the new league. The LPF ceased operation in 1917. Until 1926, the APEA remained the only league in São Paulo. Stronger teams, larger crowds and players such Neco (Corinthians) and Arthur Friedenreich (Paulistano) contributed to
1300-720: The Brazilian Championship Serie A , Serie B or Serie C qualify for next year's Serie D. Finally, the best teams in each state league can also qualify for regional cups such as the Copa do Nordeste (for Northeastern clubs) and Copa Verde (for clubs from North and Center-West regions). To prepare for the State Championship, divisionless clubs, lacking a full-year calendar, play training games and some choose to face Municipal Selections in different regions. The only state championship that does not use
1352-837: The Clássico dos Maiorais, in Paraíba ; Derby Sergipano, in Sergipe ; the Derby do Cerrado, in Goiás ; the Rio-Nal, in Amazonas ; the Clássico dos Gigantes, in Espírito Santo ; between others. State champions and runners-up, and in some states, the highest placed on the state championship table, are automatically qualified to play in the next year's Copa do Brasil . In addition, the highest ranked clubs in each state that do not compete in
1404-471: The Corinthians were to become the greatest and most attractive team that football had then known. With an intelligent nonchalance and in their tailored shirts and well-cut shorts they brought a quality and culture to the game. The club was founded on 28 September 1882 by Nicholas Lane Jackson , Assistant Secretary of the Football Association . At that time, football was still amateur, with
1456-455: The English game dominated by southern clubs. In international football (which had not yet spread beyond the home nations ), Scotland prevailed, having won three consecutive matches over England by scores of 5–1, 6–1 and 5–4. Jackson attributed Scotland's success to "the greater opportunities our opponents over the border [have] of playing together", and aimed to counteract this by forming
1508-740: The FPF organized the Super Championship with the top 3 teams in the 2002 Rio-São Paulo Tournament (Corinthians, São Paulo and Palmeiras) and the 2002 Paulista Champions (Ituano). São Paulo won the Championship. Held on May 19 and 22 Below is the list of clubs that have more than 40 appearances in the competition. Following is the list with the top 10 topscorers of all-time in the Campeonato Paulista: The awards started in 1993 by Folha de S.Paulo newspaper and then
1560-698: The FPF renamed the 4th tier of the São Paulo State Championship to Série A4 . It has the same system as the Série A2 and Série A3. However, the teams must field only five players over 23 years old. From 2024, the Segunda Divisão or Paulistão Sub-23 stands as the 5th tier, originally planned to be reintroduced in 2021, the plans were aborted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this year, 17 clubs played in matches that occurred after
1612-531: The Liga Paulista de Foot-Ball (Paulista Football League), or LPF was founded, comprising five initial teams: São Paulo Athletic Club , Internacional , Mackenzie , Germânia, and Paulistano . Between April and October 1902, those teams competed in the first edition of the tournament, with São Paulo AC winning the title and Miller himself as the leading goalscorer. Unlike in Argentina and Uruguay, football
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1664-807: The São Paulo Football Federation took over. The competition, held since 2007, is played in two-legged semifinals and final by the four best placed countryside São Paulo state clubs that did not reach the semifinal stage of the Campeonato Paulista in the season. Which in turn, is the 5th to 8th place of the first stage of Campeonato Paulista, except the teams from the city of São Paulo and also including Santos . State football leagues in Brazil The Brazilian states football championships ( Portuguese : Campeonatos Estaduais or simply Estaduais ) are
1716-506: The best Brazilian teams of the time and made a very favorable impression amongst the younger fans. Shortly thereafter, a group of workers were inspired to found the city's first popular team, Sport Club Corinthians Paulista . Growth of football popularity amongst lower classes generated a rift in the LPF. Their directors had defended that football should remain an elitist sport. This difference in opinion led to creation of another competing league,
1768-485: The club is credited with having popularised football around the world, having promoted sportsmanship and fair play, and having championed the ideals of amateurism. The club was famed for its ethos of "sportsmanship, fair play, [and] playing for the love of the game". Corinthian Spirit, still understood as the highest standard of sportsmanship, is often associated with the side. This spirit was famously summed up in their attitude to penalties; "As far as they were concerned,
1820-487: The conclusion of the four tiers above this division. The number of teams varies, and they must field only Under-23 players. The two best teams are promoted to the Série A4. Charles Miller was responsible for the creation of the first São Paulo state tournament. Miller introduced the football association rules to Brazil upon his return from England, where he attended college and discovered the sport. On December 14, 1901,
1872-409: The creation of a proper national championship in 1971 the state leagues remained prestigious and important for Brazilian fans up to the 1980s and 1990s, when national and continental competitions surpassed them in terms of relevance. Before the 1989 Campeonato Brasileiro , clubs qualified to the national league through their performances at their state's league. Currently, state championships serve as
1924-468: The directors of AA Palmeiras united to form São Paulo Futebol Clube , the third force of the city. The APEA had ceased operations in 1938, and after several name changes, the original Bandeirante Football League officially became the Federação Paulista de Futebol (Paulista Football Federation), [FPF] on April 22, 1941. São Paulo signed Leonidas da Silva in the following year and won five of
1976-472: The final. Bragantino vs. Novorizontino was the final in the 1990 championship in the Paulistão's biggest ever upset. Palmeiras' fans saw their club win the 1993, 1994 and 1996 championships with the greatest Brazilian squad of the decade. Rivaldo , Roberto Carlos , Edmundo , César Sampaio are among the members of the "Green Machine" which scored 100 goals in the 1996 tournament. Corinthians conquered
2028-411: The history of the competition. The Campeonato Paulista is the oldest established league in Brazil, being held since 1902 and professionally since 1933. Campeonato Paulista is held annually by the Federação Paulista de Futebol (São Paulo State Football Federation), or FPF, amongst teams residing within the state of São Paulo. After 2016, 16 clubs compete at the highest championship level (Série A1). In
2080-552: The knockout round happens in an eight-team playoff with a home-and-away series. The two finalists of the Série A2 will advance to the Série A1 of the following year. Also, the bottom two are demoted to the Série A3. Série A3 consists of 16 teams competing in a two-phase format similar to Série A2. Promotion and relegation rules are the same as the 2nd level of São Paulo's football system. Formerly called Segunda Divisão, in 2024,
2132-527: The next eight championships. Palestra Itália change its name to Palmeiras in 1943 due to a World War II period law that banned Axis Powers's references in sport. Football grows within the state and a second division is created in 1948, allowing upstate teams to take part in major league competition. XV de Novembro from Piracicaba was the first team promoted to the top flight. São Paulo, Palmeiras and Corinthians dominated titles in early 1950s. Santos , although having competed consistently, would need to wait
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2184-423: The next year's Copa do Brasil , regional tournaments Copa do Nordeste and Copa Verde , and teams without a national division qualify for the next year's Campeonato Brasileiro Série D . Historically, for economic and geographic reasons, such as long distances between the country's main cities, the state leagues were considered the most important championship for Brazilian clubs, especially before 1959, when
2236-422: The official gentile of those born in the state is the one in Rio de Janeiro , since, popularly, the tournament is called Campeonato Carioca ( Carioca is the official gentile of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro ), instead of Campeonato Fluminense . This occurs for three reasons: the first because of tradition, since the big clubs in the state, when Rio de Janeiro was still the capital of Brazil, disputed
2288-474: The only ones able to break such dominance in the sixties. Since the 1960s, Brazil began to develop more mature national competitions which competed with the state and regional tournaments for supporter's attention. In 1977, Corinthians' were able to win a title after a 24-year drought, and the early eighties saw the battle between Corinthians (led by Sócrates ) and São Paulo's ( Serginho Chulapa ). The " Corinthians Democracy " won in 1982 and 1983 while introducing
2340-490: The other state tournaments in Brazil, still hold significance by providing developing talent and sustaining grass-roots soccer within the state. Due to the COVID-19 death toll, the government decided to suspend the championship from 15 March 2021 till 30 March 2021, aiming to stop the spread of the coronavirus. On September 23, 2021, the São Paulo Football Federation recognizes the São Paulo titles of 1933 and 1934, to Albion and Juventus respectively. 2025 Série A1 In 2002,
2392-454: The overall table are relegated to the lower competition ( Série A2 ) for the following year. Also, in the Série A1, the six best clubs reaching the latter stages qualify for the Copa do Brasil , and the best three qualify for the Série D . Série A2 is contested by 16 teams in two separate phases. In Phase One, the teams play against each other once in a round-robin format. After 15 rounds,
2444-654: The professional adult male football competitions in Brazil that take place between January and April for the Northeast , Central-West , Southeast and South regions. In some states from the North Region , however, it takes place in May or June. One such league, the Campeonato Paulista , which started in 1902, is the oldest football competition in Brazil. All professional football clubs in Brazil play in
2496-694: The same state or city have the same weight or greater than a dispute with the main clubs in other states. These games are called derbies . Some examples are the Fla-Flu and the Clássico dos Milhões , in Rio de Janeiro ; Paulista Derby , Choque Rei , Majestoso and San-São , in São Paulo ; Grenal , in Rio Grande do Sul ; the Clássico Mineiro , in Minas Gerais ; Atle-tiba , in Paraná ;
2548-554: The team originally only played friendly matches . An exception was later made for the Sheriff of London Charity Shield , for which they competed nine times between 1898 and 1907 (winning three), before the match was replaced in the calendar by the FA Charity Shield . The club would have been strong contenders for the era's honours had they entered major competitions — shortly after Blackburn Rovers beat Queen's Park in
2600-403: The trophy five times in the 1995–2003 period, thus becoming the most successful team in the first 100 years of the Campeonato Paulista, with 25 titles. Since 2000, Campeonato Paulista has lost popularity with each year. The main São Paulo state teams treat the tournament as tune-ups for the more lucrative Copa Libertadores and Brazilian National Championship . However, the Paulistão, as well as
2652-539: The two leagues fueled expansion of the teams, as clubs from upstate began to join. By 1930, the LAF and Paulistano had folded, and a new era for São Paulo football began. Players became professionals in 1933 when Bandeirante Football League was created. Corinthians and Palestra Itália assumed their positions as the most powerful and popular teams. A new club emerges to compete for the hearts of supporters. Some dissidents from Paulistano, favorable to professionalization, along with
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#17327907218312704-415: Was restricted to elitist clubs in its early days in Brazil. Football popularity grew in following years. Paulistano, a club composed of the children of the richest families of São Paulo, became the strongest team. However, the popularity base of the sport started to change after a brilliant exhibition tour by the Corinthians , a London amateur team, in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro . They easily defeated
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