The Apertura [apeɾˈtuɾa] and Clausura [klawˈsuɾa] tournaments is a split season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues . It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American football leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is divided in two sections per season , each with its own champion . Apertura and Clausura are the Spanish words for "opening" and "closing". In French-speaking Haiti , these are known as the Ouverture and the Fermeture , while in English-speaking Belize , they are respectively the Opening and Closing seasons. When used in the United States and Canada, they are known as the Spring and Fall seasons.
108-598: The Apertura is held in the first half of the calendar year in Bolivia , Colombia , Haiti , Paraguay and Uruguay while it is held in the second half of the calendar year in Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico and Nicaragua . The words Apertura and Clausura are used in most Latin American countries. Some, however, use different terminology: In most leagues, each tournament constitutes
216-618: A de facto Brazilian championship, for example, in 1951 the Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo called the Rio-São Paulo Tournament the "unofficial Brazilian championship", stating that the two states had the best teams in Brazil. One of the first experiences of organizing a club championship at national level was the Torneio dos Campeões de 1920 [ pt ] , competed between
324-522: A Brazilian championship. The titles of old tournaments, cited in the Brazilian championship history, are equated to the title of Série A, but the tournaments are cataloging with their original name in the statistics (despite being different competitions, they confer the same title). The Campeonato Brasileiro is one of the strongest leagues in the world; it contains the second-most club world champions titles, with 10 championships won among six clubs, and
432-403: A double round-robin format, as a means to fill in the gaps caused by the lack of elimination cup competitions as in most European countries. In leagues with 16 or more teams, each tournament has a single round-robin format. Relegations, if any, are done on an aggregate basis; usually the combined table for both tournaments determine relegation placements. In some leagues, the average points over
540-546: A match result voided (a 2-2 draw) on the same grounds. The Supreme Court of Sporting Justice (STJD) ruled in favor of Internacional and Botafogo, and they both gained points. Botafogo was saved from relegation, and the change made SE Gama , from the Federal District , to be relegated instead. Gama, together with the Distrito Federal Football Coaches Union and political party PFL immediately sued
648-462: A national championship in itself. On the other hand, in the leagues of Nicaragua, Peru, and Uruguay, the winners of the Apertura and Clausura play each other in a playoff for the season title, or there is a final stage where teams qualify based on placements in the Apertura and Clausura . Thus, two championship titles are awarded per year in the first group of leagues, and only one in
756-507: A number of different interstate and regional tournaments. The most popular form of competition in a national level was the Campeonato Brasileiro de Seleções Estaduais (Brazilian Championship of State Teams), a tournament formed by Seleções , teams formed by the best representatives from each state of Brazil (a concept similar to national teams ). Originally the nomenclature "Brazilian Championship" belonged to this tournament. While
864-447: A playoff round, with the top team from each zone matched against the second-place team from the other zone in the two-legged semifinals. The semifinal winners advanced to a two-legged final. In the second half of the season, only eight of the initial 12 teams competed; all teams played a double round-robin in that half of the season, followed by a four-team knockout playoff (again two-legged throughout). The number of teams participating in
972-603: A short tournament from February to June in 2005, and the official 2005-06 season started in August. This led to yet another problem — second division teams weren't keen on the idea of putting off relegation until June 2006. After negotiations, the league determined that relegation of the lowest standing club would take place after the completion of the Apertura tournament, making the Bolivian league an odd tournament where teams were relegated in
1080-573: A total of 16 clubs have been crowned champions of the Bolivian football league system . The current champions are The Strongest , which won the title in the 2023 tournament. Bolívar is the most successful club in the league, with 30 titles to date. The organisation of football in Bolivia started in 1914 with the creation of regional associations and their respective competitions. The " La Paz Football Asociation (AFLP) " (Asociación de Fútbol de La Paz – AFLP)
1188-471: A total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, victories, goal difference , and goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal between two or more clubs, the rules are: A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Brasileirão and
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#17328376655271296-569: A total of 92 teams. From 1975 onwards, the competition was officially named Copa Brasil (Brazil Cup). In 1980, the CBD was dissolved and on its place was created the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). This coincided with the 1980s financial crisis in Brazil , which together with the previous decade's oil crisis and the gradual end of the military dictatorship , led to major reorganization of Brazilian football. The Championship
1404-471: A two-legged playoff to determine the overall champion. This format was abolished for the 2020–21 season , and the competition reverted to a traditional format played from August to April. For most of its history (except in 1996) the J. League in Japan had a similar system for its first division , although it was called 1st Stage and 2nd Stage. The seasons became unified in 2005, partially to avoid conflicts with
1512-501: A way to promote the legitimization of the military regime, national unity and patriotism, as well as part of the Programa de Integração Nacional [ pt ] , which sought the geographical integration of Brazil. In a meeting with the CBD and the club presidents in October 1970, it was decided to create the following year a Brazilian championship contested by twenty teams, inspired by
1620-456: A whole. In 2013 Corinthians was the 16th most valuable club in the world, worth over US$ 358 million. As of 2021, no Brazilian club enters the list of the most valuable football clubs . The following 20 clubs are competing in the Série A during the 2024 season. : Unrelegated clubs : Clubs that never played outside the top division Below is the list of clubs that have more appearances in
1728-503: Is doing badly, another team in the National [championship]"). The inaugural edition , inspired in the European leagues, had 20 teams. The second edition in 1972 expanded to 26 clubs. The 1973 edition saw the second division dissolved and its clubs were now participating in an unified national championship with 40 clubs. By the 1979 edition , the number of clubs participating peaked, with
1836-512: The Série B . The four lowest placed teams in the Brasileirão are relegated to Série B , and the top four teams from the Série B promoted to the Brasileirão . Since 2016, the top six clubs in the Brasileirão qualify for the following Copa Libertadores . The top four clubs directly enter the group stage whilst the fifth and sixth-placed clubs enter in the second round. The number of teams qualifying for
1944-471: The 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (where it was thrashed by Brazil 8–0 and Peru 5–0) encouraged some clubs to create their own league, so 16 teams separated from their respective associations to establish the "Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano" (Bolivian Professional Football League – LFPB) to organise championships autonomously, in 1977. The creation of the LFPB ended the distinction. It also resulted in
2052-553: The 1988 Special Division . The 1989 edition was the first to use the terminology "Série A", inspired by the Italian league system . On January 16, 1989, Ricardo Teixeira assumed the presidency of the CBF. He came to command the Confederation at a time when it was facing serious financial problems. Teixeira managed to turn it into a profitable operation through millionaire contracts involving
2160-590: The 1999 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B failed to promote back to the top division, was included in the Blue Module. One of the historical characteristics of the Brazilian Championship was the lack of standardization and constant change in the competition system, as well as the rules and the number of participants. Changes to the format started being discussed in favor of a regular and stable form of competition ever since Ricardo Teixeira's election in 1989, but
2268-571: The Brasileirão the highest revenue football league in the Americas, and the highest outside of Europe's "big five." The Brasileirão is also one of the world's most valuable football leagues, having a marketing value and worth over US$ 1.24 billion in 2013. The total worth of every club in the 2013 Brasileirão is US$ 1.07 billion. The Brasileirão's television rights were worth over US$ 610 million in 2012; that accounts for over 57% of Latin America as
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#17328376655272376-568: The Brazilian national team . During his management, the Brazilian Championship became more reorganized and the revenue generated by the clubs was increased, both in television quotas and sponsorships. However, since the first decade of his administration, Ricardo Teixeira has been involved in several allegations of corruption. The Brazilian Championship had already been tested with countless different formulas and names, being quite bloated and confusing in several editions. However, from 1987 onwards, with
2484-600: The Canadian Premier League adopted a split-season format divided into Spring and Fall seasons. The winner of each part of the season advances to the Canadian Premier League Finals . Following the traditional standard for soccer in the United States and Canada, the season is entirely contained within a calendar year, running April to November. The CPL did not follow a simple double round-robin format;
2592-523: The Copa Norte-Nordeste , with teams from regions with less expression in national football and weaker teams from the main footballing states of Brazil. The first champion was Villa Nova Atlético Clube , from the town of Nova Lima , Minas Gerais . There wasn't, however, a system of promotion and relegation . The clubs were instead selected to participate in either division according to their performances at their respective state championships . In
2700-694: The Double-A Southern and Texas Leagues in the United States both use a similar system, dividing the March–October regular season in half, with records being cleared mid-season, and the top teams mid-season and at the end of the season clinching spots in the playoff for the league pennant (the remainder of playoff slots being filled by wild cards ). This system is used in some Single-A leagues, as well. The March–September Chinese Professional Baseball League and winter Mexican Pacific League also follow
2808-475: The Emperor's Cup . It briefly resumed the same format for 2015 and 2016 seasons. The Japan Football League , at the fourth tier, briefly introduced the format from 2014 to 2019. The first season of S.League in 1996 was played in split seasons and a playoff model, with the first series being named Tiger Beer Series, and the second series being named Pioneer Series. Winners of both series then played each other at
2916-499: The Ilha do Retiro . In 1990, only Rede Bandeirantes acquired the broadcast rights. This edition marked the first national title of Corinthians, second most popular team in the country. Both the final transmission, as the other games, attracted the attention of the public, causing the network to acquire an Ibope Rating of 53 points in the deciding game. This led to the Rede Globo prioritize
3024-691: The Mid-Season Invitational , while the fall is reserved for the summer split playoffs and the League of Legends World Championship . Qualification to the World Championship is decided in one of two ways: finishing within the top three within the second split playoffs (for the LCS ) or, for the LCK and LPL , either winning the second split or through a system that awards points based on a team's performance in each of
3132-426: The Série C was downsized from 63 to 20 teams. The 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro Série D had 39 teams and its first champion was São Raimundo from Santarém, Pará . Currently the Série D has 64 teams and serves as the lowest national tier. In 2010, CBF decided to recognize the champions of both Taça Brasil (1959–68) and Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (1967–70) as Brazilian Champions, creating some controversy as there
3240-643: The Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa , nicknamed the Robertão by fans and media. Differently from the Taça Brasil, the Robertão was competed with a round-robin system , with two groups in the first stage, and a quadrangular with the two best teams of each group on the final stage. It was competed between 1967 and 1970. In 1968, the delay in closing the 1968 Taça Brasil made CBD use the Robertão to determine
3348-526: The United States Soccer Federation and later ceased operations amid a legal challenge against the federation. The third-division National Independent Soccer Association debuted in 2019 with a split season format that was played from fall to spring. The fall and spring seasons both had their own playoffs to determine the league champions. The format was abandoned following the Fall 2021 season as
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3456-473: The state leagues from January to April, some of which do feature a split season format. Brazil also has, unlike most Latin American nations, a national cup . In 1967 and 1968 , the Taça Brasil and Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa were run in the same year, making these years de facto Apertura and Clausura seasons. Both tournaments' winners are recognized as Brazilian champions. For the 2019 season only,
3564-483: The "Campeonato Brasileiro", to make it clear which was the national tournament in Brazil that would give its winner the title of Brazilian champion and, also, to avoid confusion between "Copa do Brasil" and "Copa Brasil", one of the old names used by the Brasileirão between 1975 and 1980. In the 1999 edition , a new relegation system was adopted, similar to that used in the Argentine football league . The two clubs with
3672-480: The "big three" have struggled to win the league again and 3 teams from smaller cities have won it ( Real Potosí , San José and Universitario ). Three teams share the record of never been relegated to "La Simón Bolivar" (2nd division) : The Strongest, Oriente Petrolero and Bolívar (although they were relegated in 1969 before the LPFB era). For the 2008 season, and for the first time, three tournaments were played instead of
3780-625: The 1988 Second Level. However, the Clube dos 13 , organizer of the Copa União, and the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol , put an end to the litigation between the associations, and the 1988 championship was again organized entirely by the CBF, making the relegations invalid. Santa Cruz Criciúma America (RJ) The All-time Campeonato Brasileiro table is an overall record of all match results, points, and goals of every team that has played in
3888-492: The Brazilian League. The table is accurate as of the end of the 2023 season , and includes the recently recognized 1937 Copa dos Campeões Estaduais , and all editions since 1959. Teams in bold will take part in the top division in 2024. Currently, the money of television represent a significant share in the finances of clubs in Brazil. The league broadcasting rights are total exclusivity of Grupo Globo , which distributes
3996-453: The Brazilian championship history, are equated to the title of Série A, but the tournaments are cataloging with their original name in the statistics (despite being different competitions, they confer the same title). There are 20 clubs in the Brasileirão . During the course of a season (from May to December) each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system ), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for
4104-477: The CBF itself confirmed as a "definitive format", with the four best teams qualifying for the Copa Libertadores , and the four worst teams being relegated to Série B with the season being between May and December. This was the last change to the competition's format, which has remained stable ever since. In 2008, the CBF announced the creation the Série D as a fourth division. In 2009, the number of clubs in
4212-672: The CBF to return to the Série A. The common courts decided in favor of Gama, going against the STJD's decision. By June 2000, the trial was not solved, and CBF could not organize the 2000 edition of the Brasileirão. Without the CBF, the Clube dos 13 decided to organize the Brazilian Championship, which became known as the Copa João Havelange . To avoid further legal problems, the championship would encompass all divisions. This edition became controversial for its organization: 116 clubs from all
4320-510: The CBF was forced to create a national "cup" along the lines of the European ones. In 1989, the entity created a secondary national competition, the Copa do Brasil , which allowed clubs from all states to enter. The first champion of the Copa do Brasil was Grêmio . With the creation of this new tournament, the CBF decided, for the first time, to officially name the country's main national football tournament
4428-641: The Campeonato Brasileiro. There are 159 teams that have taken part in 1 Copa dos Campeões Estaduais , 10 Taça Brasil , 4 Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa and 53 Campeonato Brasileiro editions. The teams in bold compete in Série A currently. The year in parentheses represents the most recent year of participation at this level. Clubs are relegated from Taça de Ouro to Taça de Prata of the same year, likewise happens today in international club competitions (3rd place of Copa Libertadores to Copa Sudamericana knock-out playoff). The last place of each group and
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4536-500: The Club of the 13 decision. However, weeks later, with the competition already underway, and under pressure from football clubs excluded from the Copa União, CBF adopted a new set of rules, which considered the Copa União part of a larger tournament, comprising another 16 teams. According to that new set of rules, the Copa União would be dubbed the Green Module of the CBF championship , whereas
4644-549: The Copa Simón Bolívar. Campeonato Brasileiro S%C3%A9rie A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A ( Portuguese pronunciation: [kɐ̃pjoˈnatu bɾaziˈlejɾu ˈsɛɾii ˈa] ; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão ( pronounced [bɾazilejˈɾãw] ; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from
4752-649: The Italian Serie A ), is a Brazilian professional league for men's football clubs. At the top of the Brazilian football league system , it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B . In 2021, the competition was chosen by the IFFHS as the strongest national league in South America as well as
4860-519: The League from the next edition, in 1991. In 1997, began to be restricted games live in cities where the matches are held (except finals). The Clube dos 13 closed the contract with Rede Globo's television rights as the holder of the Brasileirão for $ 50 million (including editions of 1998 and 1999 ), and resolves itself split the rights with Rede Bandeirantes during this period. It was the first edition to be shown on pay-per-view (via Premiere). In addition,
4968-479: The Libertadores may increase depending on who wins the Copa do Brasil , Copa Sudamericana or Copa Libertadores. Clubs from seventh to twelfth place qualify for the following Copa Sudamericana , although as above the numbers can depend on other competitions. Seventeen clubs are officially recognized to have been the Brazilian football champions. In bold those competing in Série A as of 2024 season . In italic
5076-400: The Libertadores representatives. The Confederation took over the organization of the Robertão, officially renaming it to the "Taça de Prata" ( Silver Cup ), and extinguished the Taça Brasil after the end of that year's edition. The Robertão remained the top Brazilian championship the following two years. In 2010 the CBF announced that these were to be regarded as Brazilian championships. Because
5184-558: The Robertão and the Taça Brasil ran at the same time for two years (1967 and 1968), the 1968 season has two separate simultaneous Brazilian champions: the 1968 Taça Brasil was won by Botafogo and the 1968 Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa was won by Santos. In contrast, the 1967 season saw Palmeiras champion of both competitions. Following Brazil's third world title at the 1970 FIFA World Cup , president Emílio Médici decided to better organize Brazilian football. The Brazilian military government had become heavily involved in football as
5292-495: The Second Division, and sometimes there weren't different tiers. Number of clubs also fluctuated, with the 1979 edition reached its peak, with 92 participants. The various formats already adopted include a knockout tournament system (1959–1968) and a mixed system with a group stage followed by playoffs (1967–2002). The championship's competition formula was standardized only in 2006, when the round-robin system with 20 clubs
5400-595: The World Championship. The first four seasons of the National Hockey League used a half-season system, with the winners of the two half-seasons playing in the league final. Bolivian Primera Divisi%C3%B3n The División de Fútbol Profesional is the top-flight professional football league in Bolivia . In 2017 it replaced the "Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano" ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈliɣa ðe ˈfuðβol pɾofesjoˈnal βoliˈβjano] ; English: Bolivian Professional Football League ). Since 1950,
5508-494: The basketball league (LIBOBASQUET) in 2014, the only professional sports league in the country. In 2017, after a change of statutes in the FBF, the LFPB and the ANF were replaced by the "División Profesional" (professional division) and the "División Aficionados" (amateur division), both managed by the FBF from 2018 onwards. The championship format has changed over the years. Beginning in 1977,
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#17328376655275616-491: The best placed teams from the all modules would qualify for the play-offs . Another controversy was the choice of clubs for the Blue Module: Fluminense, which had played in 1999 Campeonato Brasileiro Série C and obtained promotion to Série B, was included in the Blue Module of the new competition, where the elite of Brazilian football was, without having to go through the second division. Similarly, Bahia, playing at
5724-502: The championship because football was still amateur in the rest of the regions. At the end of 1960, the Bolivian Football Federation established a national championship, with the purpose of crowning a champion representing Bolivia in recently created Copa Libertadores . The competition, named "Copa Simón Bolívar", was contested by champions and runner ups of regional associations. The demise of Bolivian national team in
5832-506: The championship multiple times through the justice system, Sport remains recognized by both CBF and FIFA as 1987 Champions. Part of the football fans in Brazil still consider Flamengo as the Brazilian Champion of 1987, or at least co-champions. After the chaos caused by the 1987 edition, the CBF and Club of the 13 reached an agreement on how to organize the next year's edition of the Copa União. The 1988 Campeonato Brasileiro reduced
5940-414: The chaos of the 2000 edition made it even more apparent that change was necessary. In 2002, the Clube dos 13 voted in favor of adopting a European-style round-robin format : The matches are divided into two rounds, and the team that scores the most points is declared champion. The tiebreaker criteria vary, from goal sequence to number of victories. Rede Globo , the Brasileirão's main broadcasting partner
6048-722: The clubs who have never been relegated to any lower division. Note: although some consider Flamengo as champion of the Brazilian Championship in 1987, Sport is officially the only champion of this competition. The Campeonato Brasileiro had its official name changed often before settling on Campeonato Brasileiro in 1989. 2001: LATAM (Brasileirão TAM) 2002: Visa (Troféu VISA Electron) 2005: Nestlé (Taça Nestlé Brasileirão) 2009–2012: Petrobras (Brasileirão Petrobras) 2014–2017: Chevrolet (Brasileirão Chevrolet) 2018–2023: Assaí Atacadista (Brasileirão Assaí) 2024–: Betano (Brasileirão Betano) The Brasileirão had total club revenues of US$ 1.17 billion in 2012. This makes
6156-494: The competition twelve times, followed by Santos with eight titles, and Corinthians and Flamengo with seven titles each. Santos' Os Santásticos won five consecutive titles between 1961 and 1965, a feat that remains unequalled. The state of São Paulo is the most successful, amassing 34 titles among five clubs. Anglo-Brazilian Charles Miller introduced Brazil to football association rules to Brazil in 1894 upon his return from England, where he attended college and discovered
6264-430: The conclusion of the 2014 Primera season this happened, with the 2015 season taking a European style year long season from February to December. The AFA later decided to change its season to one spanning two calendar years; as such, the 2016 season is an abbreviated tournament held from February to May, followed by an August-to-June season from 2016–17 forward. The Premier League of Belize , created in 2012 by
6372-475: The creation of the Copa União , there was a decrease in the number of participants in the championship. As a result, several clubs from less popular regions that entered the national competition because they were state champions no longer faced clubs considered "big" and traditional, and as a result, some associations were even at risk of becoming extinct. To calm the discontent of these clubs and smaller federations,
6480-455: The creation of three separate entities: the FBF's role was restricted to the international representation of Bolivia in the sport, the newly created LFPB became the organizer of the sole first division tournament, and the LPFA, together with the rest of the regional associations, became the organizer of the second (and lower) division regionalized tournaments. It was the first and, until the formation of
6588-532: The end of the season in a championship Playoff, with the winner of the Playoff being crowned the first champion of S.League. This split seasons format has not been used since the first season. The K-League of South Korea also had the same system in 1984, 1986, 1995, 2004, 2005, and 2006. In 2007, it again became unified because of confusion among fans. All the following leagues are their country's top national division (Div 1) unless otherwise indicated. In baseball,
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#17328376655276696-425: The final of this competition in 2001, was marked by an unusual situation. Vasco da Gama , a finalist against São Caetano , graced the logo of SBT, the second largest television station of Brazil, a direct rival to Globo. This situation was somewhat embarrassing for Globo, which transmitted the final exclusively, and which was seen by an estimated audience of 60 million people. Despite the large number of spectators in
6804-461: The finals. The newly instated play-off tournament consisted of home-away matches (and with away goals rule used for the first time). An average points from the previous two seasons determines relegation, with the last placed team being directly relegated and replaced by the winner of the Copa Simón Bolívar . The team placed second-from-bottom plays a relegation play-off against the runner-up of
6912-550: The first games shown on pay television were courtesy of SporTV, after a controversial signing contract of Clube dos 13 with Globosat . Previously, in 1993, the Club of the 13 an CBF had signed a contract with TVA, a company in which ESPN Brazil was part. However, that decision was declined. In 2000, the broadcasting rights of the Copa João Havelange, organized by the Clube dos 13, were sold to Rede Globo for $ 50 million. However,
7020-417: The first-half winner play against the second-half winner at the end of the season for the championship. The Philippine Basketball Association also conducts a split season similar in many ways to the Apertura and Clausura . All League of Legends leagues operate on a split-season system, with one split in the spring and one in the summer. The summer is reserved for the spring split playoffs and
7128-425: The four clubs that lost in the repechage play-off were sent to the dispute of Taça de Prata. América de Natal (Play-off loser), CSA (Play-off loser), Goiás (Play-off loser), Desportiva (Play-off loser) Paysandu (Play-off loser), CSA (Play-off loser), Juventus (Play-off loser), Ferroviário (Play-off loser) According to the regulation, The 15th (Santos) and 16th (Corinthians) placed teams would play
7236-471: The league moved to a spring-to-fall single-season schedule. The USSR Championship in football among "exhibition teams" (later "teams of masters") started in 1936. Its first season (1936) contained a split-season format for all four tiers of the championship including Groups (A, B, V, and Ghe). In 1976 a split-season format was once again revived for the Top League only and for a single season. On both occasions
7344-630: The league ran with sixteen clubs divided into two series, but switched to fourteen clubs in two series playing two tournaments each year beginning in the mid 80s and economical problems with some teams led to another cut in the number of participants to twelve in 1991. Another change came in 2005 when teams decided to adapt to the International FIFA calendar, meaning the season would be played from August to June rather than from February to December, in order to avoid problems defining which teams would qualify for international tournaments. The league played
7452-455: The live matches for its television stations: TV Globo ( terrestrial and satellite ), SporTV ( pay ), and Premiere (through the system pay-per-view ), where subscribers have the privilege to follow all 380 annual league matches. Globo, first cited, displays the League first time in 1987, when was created the Clube dos 13 , trading tool of clubs with the television. The first television contract
7560-468: The merger of two rival top-level leagues, began a split season in 2012–13. The Opening Season takes place in the second half of the calendar year, with the Closing Season following in the first half of the next calendar year. Like most Latin American leagues, it crowns two separate champions in each season. However, its format is significantly different from that of most other leagues, being more similar to
7668-539: The middle of the season. But this decision was overturned in November 2006 and the league switched back to a calendar-year season in 2007 starting with the Apertura tournament in March 2007. For the 2018 season, the number of teams was increased from twelve to fourteen. Historically, teams from La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz have dominated the league. Until 2007 only San José won the league in 1995, but since then teams from
7776-599: The most prestigious club tournament outside the state championships was the Torneio Rio–São Paulo , organized jointly by the Federação Paulista de Futebol (FPF) and Federação Carioca de Futebol (FCF, current FERJ ) and competed between clubs from the Campeonato Paulista and Campeonato Carioca . Since the two championships had the best teams of Brazil at the time, this tournament was considered sometimes
7884-434: The national tournaments in the European nations. The first edition was named " Campeonato Nacional de Clubes " ("National Championship of Clubs"), was held in 1971 and won by Atlético Mineiro . The top division was named "Divisão Extra" (Extra Division), while a newly created second division earned the "Primeira Divisão" (First Division) name. The second division was a fusion of the already existing Torneio Centro-Sul and
7992-476: The need to appoint a Brazilian representative to the first edition of the Copa Libertadores , led to the creation of a regular nationwide tournament, the Taça Brasil . In 1967, the Torneio Rio-São Paulo was expanded to include teams from other states, becoming the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa , which was also considered a national tournament. The first tournament downright called a national championship
8100-412: The next few years, due to the influence of the military regime, the number of clubs that participated in the competition steadily increased. Each subsequent edition added teams to garner support to the military government, specially from regions were ruling party ARENA had less support. This was epitomized by a common aphorism at the time: " Onde a ARENA vai mal, mais um time no Nacional " ("Where ARENA
8208-422: The number of participants, to hold a more competitive championship with just 24 teams. Furthermore, for the first time, the competition had a true promotion and relegation system, as required by FIFA. The last four placed in the first division ( Bangu , Santa Cruz, Criciúma and America ) fell to the second division in 1989, being replaced by Inter de Limeira and Náutico , respectively champion and runner-up of
8316-607: The other 16 teams would play the Yellow Module. In the end, the first two teams of each Module would play each other to define the national champions and the two teams that would represent Brazil in the Copa Libertadores in 1988. However, that new set of rules was never recognized by the Club of the 13 and largely ignored by most of the Brazilian media, who concentrated their attention in the independent league, eventually won by Clube de Regatas do Flamengo. The eventual final tourney
8424-480: The participants selected from the champions of the state championships. The first champion was Bahia which defeated Pelé's Santos in a remarkable underdog victory. Breaking the Rio de Janeiro - São Paulo hegemony in national football. In 1967, the Federação Paulista de Futebol and Federação Carioca de Futebol decided to expand the Torneio Rio–São Paulo to include teams from other states of Brazil. Thus becoming
8532-459: The playoffs along with the two teams with the best records in the combined seasons; the two season winners previously qualified directly for the Soccer Bowl championship. The seasons were unbalanced, with the fall season completing a full double round-robin while the shorter spring season only had single round-robin. The NASL cancelled its Spring 2018 season after it lost Division II sanctioning from
8640-428: The previous two or three seasons are used to determine relegation. Peru abolished its Apertura and Clausura format after the 2008 season but brought it back for the 2014 season. Ecuador adopted the Apertura and Clausura in 2005 featuring two champions in the season, however, its subsequent tournaments renamed the Apertura and Clausura as first and second stages, respectively, with
8748-424: The same structure, using a team's win record in each stage to determine which advance to the playoffs. Japan's Pacific League had a split season format from 1973 to 1982, with a mini-playoff between the two winners to determine the league's champion. While Little League Baseball does not mandate any specific scheduling format to be used by local leagues, it recommends dividing the regular season in half and having
8856-477: The seasons were conducted in a single round-robin tournament . In Belgium a large reform of the Belgian football league system was performed in 2016, which reduced the number of professional teams to 24, with only 8 teams remaining at the second level, called Belgian First Division B . From the 2016–17 season until the 2019–20 season , the 8 teams played two tournaments, with the winners of both tournaments playing
8964-541: The second-most Copa Libertadores titles, with 23 titles won among 11 clubs. The IFFHS ranked the league fourth in strength for the 2001–12 period after the Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain), and Serie A (Italy). The Campeonato Brasileiro is the most-watched football league in the Americas and one of the world's most exposed, broadcast in 155 nations. It is also one of the world's richest championships, ranked as
9072-492: The second. In Mexico and Colombia , for instance, the winners of each tournament play each other at the beginning of the following season for another title, but this is a rather minor season curtain-raiser, akin to national Super Cups in European leagues. Some Apertura and Clausura tournaments also have second stages to decide the winner. In leagues with 12 or fewer teams, each Apertura and Clausura has
9180-402: The sixth most valuable with a worth of over US$ 1.43 billion, generating an annual turnover of over US$ 1.17 billion in 2012. Since 1959, a total of 156 clubs have played in the Campeonato Brasileiro. Seventeen clubs have been crowned Brazilian football champions , thirteen of which have won the title more than once. Palmeiras is the most successful club of the Campeonato Brasileiro, having won
9288-443: The splits, with the best non-qualified teams entering the regional finals for the last one or two spots. Unlike most other split-season formats, the summer split is more important than the spring split; coming second in the summer split is worth as many points as winning the spring split. The LEC has three splits, winter, spring and summer, as well as an end-of-season tournament called Season Finals which decides which teams qualify for
9396-511: The sport, and it soon became popular in the country. In 1902 Miller helped to organize the Liga Paulista de Foot-Ball (current Campeonato Paulista ), Brazil's first football league. The league only played in the area of the State of São Paulo . Due the size of Brazil, economic and geographical challenges, and lack of transport infraestructure, the creation of a fully national league or championship
9504-505: The spring season was an uneven 10 match season, while the fall season was a triple round robin, 18 match season. The second incarnation of the North American Soccer League adopted a split-season format in 2013, divided into Spring and Fall Championships. Like other soccer leagues in the United States and Canada, the season was entirely contained within a calendar year. Beginning in 2014, the winner of each season qualified for
9612-485: The status of first national champions of Brazil. The Taça Brasil ( Brazil Cup ) was introduced in 1959, and ran until 1968. The Taça Brasil was created to select a representative for the newly created Copa Libertadores de América , and it was intended to become Brazil's new national competition, replacing the Campeonato Brasileiro de Seleções Estaduais . The Taça Brasil was a pure knockout tournament , with
9720-443: The strongest in the world. Due to historical peculiarities and the large geographical size of the country, Brazil has a relatively short history of nationwide football competitions. The main and most prestigious competitions were the state championships , run in each of the Brazilian states , with occasional inter-state tournaments, such as the Torneio Rio–São Paulo . In 1959, advancements in civil aviation and air transport and
9828-406: The system used by Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada. In the first split season (2012–13), the league's 12 teams were divided into two six-team zones. During the first half of the season, every team played a double round-robin within its zone, plus single games against four teams from the opposite zone, resulting in a 14-game schedule. The top two teams from each zone qualified for
9936-602: The three divisions, divided in four "modules" organized as the championships before the Sandro Hiroshi case. The Blue Module , equivalent to the Série A, Yellow Module , equivalent to the Série B with some Série C clubs, and the Green and White Modules from Série C clubs, the former from the North , Northeast and Central-West regions of Brazil and the latter from South and Southeast of Brazil. Although equivalents to different tiers,
10044-492: The top flight dropped to seven for the 2013–14 season. Each half of that season will have the same format as the 2013 Closing Season. The Brazilian national league is a notable tournament in Latin America not to split the season into two parts, using a single-season double round-robin format to decide the champions, similar to those in European leagues, though played between May and December. Brazilian clubs also participate in
10152-514: The top placed teams advancing to a third stage to determine the champion and international qualification. Starting in 2009, the Ecuadorian championships were decided by a final between stage or group winners, maintaining the half-year tournament format. Argentine Football Association (AFA) president Julio Grondona proposed in December 2008 the return to a single championship per season format, and at
10260-451: The usual two. The Apertura tournament was played from March to July on a round-robin system; the Clausura tournament played from August to October where the teams were divided into two series of 6 teams each, Group A comprised all western teams (plus Universitario) and Group B comprised all eastern teams (plus Wilstermann and Aurora), the top two teams of each group advanced to the semifinals and
10368-443: The winners of the Campeonato Paulista ( Paulistano ), Campeonato Carioca ( Fluminense ) and Campeonato Gaúcho ( Brasil de Pelotas ). A second edition was done in the 1937 Torneios dos Campeões , won by Atlético Mineiro . It was the first with fully professional clubs. In August 2023, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) officially recognized the tournament as a Brazilian championship, thus conferring to Atlético Mineiro
10476-430: The worst campaigns in the first phase and in the previous season were relegated. However, this system only lasted a single season. During the first phase of the competition, it was discovered that the player Sandro Hiroshi of São Paulo was registered irregularly. Botafogo , at the risk of being relegated to Série B, requested a 6-1 loss to São Paulo to be annulled. Later Internacional also successfully appealed to have
10584-469: Was a two-year period when both tournaments were held, thus Palmeiras was awarded two times for winning both in 1967 and both Santos and Botafogo were recognized as champions in 1968 as each tournament was won by one of them. In August 2023, the CBF declared the Torneio dos Campeões 1937 retroactively a Brazilian championship, giving a Brazilian title to Atlético Mineiro. The titles of old tournaments, cited in
10692-440: Was adopted with all teams facing each other in home and away games. In 2010, the champions of national tournaments from 1959 to 1970—Taça Brasil and Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa—have been declared official winners of the Brazilian championship or champions of Brazil (not winners of Brasileirão or Série A ) by the Brazilian Football Confederation . In August 2023, the CBF declared the 1937 Torneio dos Campeões retroactively
10800-434: Was against the removal of playoffs, arguing for a loss of revenue and audience without decisive games. 24 clubs disputed the 2003 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A , the first one with the round-robin system, and Cruzeiro won Brazil's first domestic treble after winning that year's Série A, Copa do Brasil and Campeonato Mineiro . The next years saw the number of clubs later scaled down to 22 in 2005 and 20 in 2006 . In what
10908-455: Was almost impossible. Instead the rest of Brazil followed São Paulo's example and founded state football leagues for each of the federative units of Brazil . The state leagues remained the main and most prestigious championships, and were considered the equivalent of national leagues of other countries. As the sport grew in size, the local state federations and the recently created Confederação Brasileira de Desportos (CBD) started to organize
11016-483: Was also created as a third division in 1981, with the inaugural champion being Olaria Atlético Clube , a club from the neighbourhood of Olaria in the city of Rio de Janeiro . But citing financial issues, the CBF announced, shortly after the end of the first edition, that the tournament would be discontinued. The third division would later return in one-off editions in 1988 , 1990 , 1992 until it became regularly competed from 1994 onwards. In 1987, CBF announced it
11124-427: Was downsized and a new format was introduced. The 1980 edition was named "Taça de Ouro" ( Gold Cup ). The second division was also reintroduced, now with the name "Taça de Prata" ( Silver Cup ). A mechanism of promotion also first appeared in this edition: the four best-ranked teams in the first phase of the "Taça Prata" would go on to compete in the second phase of the "Taça Ouro". The Taça de Bronze ( Bronze Cup )
11232-419: Was held in 1971, also won by Atlético Mineiro , although it was only referred to as "Campeonato Brasileiro" starting in 1989. One of the historical characteristics of the Brazilian Championship was the lack of standardization in the competition system, the rules and the number of participants, which changed almost every season. Because of this, in several seasons there was no promotion and relegation system to
11340-400: Was negotiated in 1987, with only conveying the Green Module of the Copa União , organized by the Clube dos 13, the television rights were sold for $ 3.4 million to Rede Globo. And only with the conveying of the championship final, SBT broadcast the game instead, a blow to the Rede Globo, who says today that the Green Module would be the league itself, and then was prevented from entering
11448-460: Was not financially able to organize the Brazilian football championship, a mere few weeks before it was scheduled to begin. As a result, the thirteen most popular football clubs in Brazil created an association, called Clube dos 13 , to organize a championship of their own. This tournament was called Copa União and was run by the 16 clubs that eventually took part in it ( Santa Cruz , Coritiba and Goiás were invited to join). CBF initially stood by
11556-483: Was set to have Sport and Guarani , from the yellow module, and Flamengo and Internacional from the green one. It never materialized, however, as Flamengo and Internacional refused to partake in it. As a result, Sport and Guarani played each other, with the first one winning the Championship for 1987 and both going on to represent Brazil in the 1988 Copa Libertadores . Although Flamengo has attempted to gain ownership of
11664-403: Was the first organised body with 29 championships held between 1914 and 1949. The AFLP was considered for many years the top football tournament in the country. In 1950 the body modified its statutes allowing the professionalisation of the sport in Bolivia, so the "Torneo Profesional" was created. Between 1950 and 1959, only clubs from La Paz, Oruro (since 1954) and Cochabamba (1955) took part of
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