Santa Cruz Futebol Clube is a Brazilian professional football club based in Recife, Pernambuco, that used to compete in the Série D, the fourth tier of Brazilian football, and competes in the Campeonato Pernambucano, the top flight of the Pernambuco state football league.

The Campeonato Brasileiro Série D is the fourth division of the Brazilian football league system, and was announced by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) on 9 April 2008. The Campeonato Brasileiro Série D was formed from the split of the Série C, keeping its best 20 clubs and playing double round robin as does the top three divisions. The Série D keeps the same format of the older Série C, but with participation limited to 40 clubs recognized by the state federation. In 2016 the Série D was expanded to 68 clubs, but in 2022 it was reduced to 64 clubs.