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2.Background of the Brazilian Football Leagues System – The Problem The Brazilian Football Association (Confederação Brasileira de Futebol, “CBF”), founded in 1914, is the national governing body for football, recognized by FIFA. CBF is a private entity under the Brazilian Civil Code. CBF’s institutional purposes, as stated in its social statute, is, among others, to administrate, direct, control, foment, disseminate, improve and supervise the practice of professional and non-professional football within the whole national territory. This also includes the coordination of executing football competitions, in each of its forms, to maintain the sportive order and to watch for the discipline within the practice of football. Finally, to represent the Brazilian football abroad and to respect, abide by and enforce FIFA’s and CONMEBOL’s regulations.
It is important to highlight some numbers regarding the Brazilian football to present an overview. The last ofcial estimative by CBF, released in 2009, demonstrates a total of 783 professional football clubs. From which, 520 clubs are playing professional competitions. The number of football players is also surprising to some, by the end of 2015, there were 28.203 professional and 22.782 amateur football players in Brazil (according to CBF). The Brazilian football calendar is played from January to December, in opposite to the reality in Europe. Due to its huge territorial area, Brazil has an interesting aspect, the dispute of State Championships. The State Championships take place in each of the 26 States plus the Federal District. Historically and for geographical and economic reasons, it has developed a strong culture of disputing the State Championships, which reinforces the rivalry between clubs from the same regions. These championships take place during the rst part of the season, for a period of three to four months.
There are two national championships in Brazil, the Brazilian Cup and the Brazilian Championship. The Brazilian Cup is played by 64 clubs, in 18 match days, from March to November. It is played in a Cup format, which means play-offs (through draws), until the Champion is decided in a two-leg nal.
The most important football competition is the Brazilian Championship though. In Brazil, there are no leagues representing the clubs. The organization and execution of the Championship is in charge of CBF. The rst division is played from May to November, on a league-system, in 38 match-days, comprising 20 clubs. Four clubs are directly relegated each year, being replaced by four promoted teams from the second division.
The second division follows the same system, whereas the third and fourth divisions are rst played in regional groups, until the nal national phase – meaning the leagues are all interconnected. The top teams of the Série A are capable of going higher than the national level however, qualifying for global competitions such as the; Libertadores de América, Copa Sudamericana, and eventually the FIFA World Club Championship.
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