Brazilian football league system
| Brazilian football league system |
| Nation |
| States |
| Current National Champions |
| Série A: Flamengo Série B: Bragantino Série C: Náutico Série D: Brusque Copa do Brasil: Athletico |
The Brazilian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for football clubs in Brazil. It consists of several independent pyramids, which are the national pyramid and the state pyramids. As those pyramids are independent, clubs usually compete in both pyramids in the same year. Both the national pyramid and the state pyramids consist of several different levels. The best placed teams in the state championships as well as the best ranked clubs in CBF's ranking compete in the Copa do Brasil.
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.
The national pyramid competitions start in May and end in December. The state pyramid has varying durations and schedules in each state. In states with clubs competing in the national first and second divisions, the 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. These lesser championships runs from July to December. Besides the trophy, it may award the winner 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 four leagues, the Série A, Série B, the Série C and the Série D. The Série A, Série B and Série C currently consist of 20 teams each. Série D was contested by 40 teams, expanded to 68 in 2016. Série A and Série B are contested in a double-round-robin format by all clubs; Série C and Série D have regional groups. Before 2009 there was no Série D and the Série C had 64 teams in regionalized groups. Each year, the four worst placed clubs in the Série A are relegated to the Série B and the four top placed clubs in the Série B are promoted to Série A. This relation of four promoted and four relegated is the same for the other levels.The clubs competing in the Série D are the best placed state championship clubs of the same season which are not competing in the Série A, B or C. Clubs that are successful in their state leagues can rise higher in the pyramid, being promoted to the Série D, and eventually to higher levels. Some state federations organize special competitions with the purpose of qualifying teams to the Série D.
As a result of the rules detailed above, it is possible for a minor state championship club to rise to the Série A, and become successful in the competition. To achieve this, a club must qualify in the state championship and, later, qualify in Séries D, C and B.
Examples of clubs that went all the way up from the least state league until Série A are: Paraná Clube, São Caetano, Brasiliense, Grêmio Barueri and Ipatinga. None of them are in 2015 Série A, but Paraná and São Caetano had a relative success in Série A for a while. Brasiliense and Ipatinga, however, never played a second year in this competition, being quickly relegated to Série B. Grêmio Barueri, for its part, only lasted in the first level for two years, before being relegated. The latter three teams eventually participated in the Série D in 2014, failing on achieving promotion.
The reverse is also possible: a club from Série A can eventually be relegated to the very least state league. A recent example is the rich in history América-MG. América played in the Série C in 2008 and 2009, avoiding the Série D. The club is back to National competitions and to its state first division, reaching Série A in 2011, although relegated to Série B in 2012. Currently, at least seven clubs have been relegated to Série C and successfully reappeared in Série A. Santa Cruz, a Série A club in 2006, fell to Série D in 2010, but in 2016 is back to the top flight. Other clubs formerly in Série A, that were relegated to Séries C, D and below have not so far recovered their strength. For example, America, Remo, Juventude, América de Natal, Guarani and Paysandu.
State championships
In the state pyramid, which consists of several independent state championships, the participating clubs, which also include Série A, Série B and Série C clubs, are limited to their own states always played home against the other participating clubs.State cups
The state cups are usually played during the second half of the year, after the state championships have concluded. The participating teams are clubs not competing in the national championships and reserve teams of clubs competing in the national championships. Examples of such competitions are the Copa FGF, the Copa Paulista de Futebol and the Copa Rio.Inter-state championships
Several inter-state club championships have been held along the decades, such as the Torneio Rio-São Paulo, Copa Centro-Oeste, Copa Norte, Copa Sul-Minas, Copa do Nordeste, Copa Verde, and Primeira Liga.Copa do Brasil
The Copa do Brasil is contested between the winners and best placed clubs of the previous season state championships, and by the best placed clubs in the CBF ranking. From 2013, it is played between the months of April and November.Current system
1The state championships are not officially hierarchically behind the Série D, but they are used by CBF as a way to promote clubs to the competition.The teams playing in the four national divisions also play the state championships in the same year.
The state championships are the lowest level for professional clubs.
There are amateur competitions too, organized by the federation of each city. However, they are closed, and can't make it to the state main division without the approval of the board.
Current teams in Campeonato Brasileiro
Teams by state
In 2019 the following states will have teams in Series A, B and C. Rules for classification: 1) Most teams in A+B+C; 2) Most teams in A+B; 3) Most teams in A| Pos. | State | A | B | C | Total |
| 1 |  São Paulo | 5 | 4 | 2 | 11 |
| 2 |  Rio Grande do Sul | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 |  Paraná | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 |  Rio de Janeiro | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 |  Minas Gerais | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 6 |  Santa Catarina | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 |  Goiás | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 |  Ceará | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 |  Pernambuco | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 |  Alagoas | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
 Bahia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 12 |  Mato Grosso | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 |  Maranhão | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Pará | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
 Paraíba | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
 Amazonas | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Sergipe | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
The teams from each state participating in the 2019 Campeonato Brasileiro Series A, B and C are listed below. Participation in Serie D varies every year.
Serie A
Serie B
Serie C
| Number of teams | State | Team |
| 3 | Juventude, São José, Ypiranga | |
| 2 | Imperatriz, Sampaio Corrêa | |
| 2 | Boa Esporte, Tombense | |
| 2 | Paysandu, Remo | |
| 2 | Botafogo-PB, Treze | |
| 2 | Náutico, Santa Cruz | |
| 2 | ABC, Globo | |
| 1 | Atlético Acreano | |
| 1 | Ferroviário | |
| 1 | Luverdense | |
| 1 | Volta Redonda | |
| 1 | Confiança |
State league pyramid examples
The 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 a fixed number of teams each, while the fourth level can be disputed by any clubs not in the first three levels. As of 2020, 42 teams had taken place on the state's fourth level. The competitions are organized by the São Paulo Football Federation.The Campeonato Catarinense table below is another example of a state league pyramid. It is divided in three levels. The first two levels are disputed by 10 teams each. As of 2018 the third level was disputed by only 8 clubs. The competitions are organized by the Santa Catarina Football Federation.
The Campeonato Mineiro table below is another example of a state league pyramid. It is divided in three levels. The first and second levels are played by 12 teams each. As of 2019, the third level had 16 participants. The competitions are organized by the Minas Gerais Football Federation.