The Brazilian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for football clubs in Brazil.

Structure

There are two simultaneous and independent pyramids in the Brazilian football, the national pyramid, and the state pyramid.

While the national competitions are organized by CBF, the state championships are organized by the respective football federations of each state (for example, the Campeonato Pernambucano is organized by the Pernambuco Football Federation).

The national pyramid competitions starts in April and ends in December. The state pyramid has different duration and schedule in each state, but in states with clubs competing on the national first and second divisions, the main state championships run from January/February to April/May.

Most states have at least one secondary tournament involving smaller clubs not in the top two leagues of the national championship, this lesser championship runs from July to December. Besides the trophy, it may award the winner(s) places in the main tournament or in the Brazilian Cup next year.

Smaller states, whose clubs do not take part in national competitions have longer competitions, usually running during the "winter" months: April to October.

National championships

In the national pyramid, there are three leagues, the Série A, Série B and Série C. The Série A and Série B currently consist of 20 teams, while the Série C is disputed by 64 teams. Each year, the four worst placed clubs in the Série A are relegated to the Série B, the four top placed clubs in the Série B are promoted to Série A, the four worst clubs in the Série B are relegated to the Série C, and the four top placed clubs in the Série C are promoted to Série B.

The clubs disputing the Série C are the best placed state championship clubs of the same season which are not disputing the Série A and the Série B. Clubs that are successful in their state leagues can rise higher in the pyramid, being promoted to the Série C, and then to the Série B and eventually the Série A. Some state federations organize special competitions with the purpose of qualifying teams to the Série C.

As a result of the rules detailed above, it is possible (and not unheard of) for a minor state championship club to rise to the Série A, and become champions of the competition. To achieve this, a club must qualify in the state championship and, later the same year, qualify in Série C. So, only one year after reaching the state top level, a new club can reach Série B. Recent examples of clubs that went all the way up from the least state league until Série A are: Paraná Clube (founded 1989, played Série A in 1993), São Caetano (founded 1989, played Série A in 2000) and Ipatinga (founded 1998, to play Série A in 2008).

The reverse is also possible: a club from Série A can be eventually relegated to the very least state league. A recent example is the very traditional América-MG (founded 1912, relegated from Série A in 2004, to Série C in 2005 and to state second division in 2007). No clubs that have gone "all the way down" have so far resurfaced in Série A. At least four clubs (Fluminense, Náutico, Atlético Paranaense, Vitória) have been relegated to Série C and successfully reappeared in Série A. Other clubs formerly in Série A that were relegated to Série C have not so far recovered their strength (Santa Cruz, América-RJ, América-MG, Remo, Fortaleza, Guarani, Atlético-GO).

State championships

In the state pyramid, which consists of several independent state championships, the participating clubs, which also include Série A and Série B clubs, are limited to their own states (however, there are some minor exceptions, like in the Campeonato Brasiliense, where Unaí from Minas Gerais and Luziânia from Goiás also compete, due to their proximity to Brasília city). The leagues are usually divided in two, three or four levels. The number of clubs per level, as well as the number of levels, are different in each state. For example, in São Paulo there are 20 clubs in the first level, but in Rio de Janeiro there are 16, and in Rondônia there are just 8 clubs. Also, the number of promoted and relegated clubs are different from one state to the other.

State championships may include obscure formats or experiment with proposed innovations in rules. Some rules adopted may be quite unfair. In Rio de Janeiro State Championship in 2008, the big four (Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama) always played home against the other participating clubs.

Copa do Brasil

The Copa do Brasil is disputed between the winners and best placed clubs of the previous season state championships, and by the best placed clubs in the CBF ranking. It is disputed between the months of February and June (or July, in the years when the FIFA World Cup is being disputed). The number of clubs per state range from one to three, excluding the clubs qualified by the CBF ranking. Since 2001, clubs already qualified for the Libertadores Cup do not take part in Copa do Brasil, thus preventing a club from winning sequentially.

Current system

Level	League/Division
National Championships
1	Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 20 clubs
2	Campeonato Brasileiro Série B 20 clubs
3	Campeonato Brasileiro Série C 64 clubs, 20 clubs as of 2009 season
4	Campeonato Brasileiro Série D 40 clubs as of 2009 season
State Championships1
1	State Championships Top Divisions Acre - Alagoas - Amapá - Amazonas - Bahia - Ceará - Distrito Federal - Espírito Santo - Goiás - Maranhão - Mato Grosso - Mato Grosso do Sul - Minas Gerais - Pará - Paraíba - Paraná - Pernambuco - Piauí - Rio de Janeiro - Rio Grande do Norte - Rio Grande do Sul - Rondônia - Roraima - Santa Catarina - São Paulo - Sergipe - Tocantins
2-4	State Championships Lower Divisions Acre - Alagoas - Amapá - Amazonas - Bahia - Ceará - Distrito Federal - Espírito Santo - Goiás - Maranhão - Mato Grosso - Mato Grosso do Sul - Minas Gerais - Pará - Paraíba - Paraná - Pernambuco - Piauí - Rio de Janeiro - Rio Grande do Norte - Rio Grande do Sul - Rondônia - Roraima - Santa Catarina - São Paulo - Sergipe - Tocantins

¹The state championships are not officially hierarchically behind the Série C, but they are used by CBF as a way to promote clubs to the competition.

Example of a state league pyramid

The 2006 Campeonato Paulista table below is an example of a state league pyramid. It is divided in four levels. The first three levels are disputed by 20 teams each, while the fourth level is disputed by 44 clubs. The competitions are organized by the Paulista Football Federation.

Campeonato Paulista
Level	League/Division
1	Série A1 20 clubs
2	Série A2 20 clubs
3	Série A3 20 clubs
4	Segunda Divisão 44 clubs

References

External links

• Brazilian football competitions at RSSSF