State football leagues in Brazil
The Brazilian states football championships are the professional adult male football competitions in Brazil that take place between January and April for the Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South regions. In some states from the North Region, however, it takes place in May or June. One such league, the Campeonato Paulista, which started in 1902, is the oldest football competition in Brazil. All professional football clubs in Brazil play in a state championship, but not all qualify for the national league.
Grêmio vs. União Frederiquense for 2015 Campeonato Gaúcho
São Paulo Athletic Club and CA Paulistano in the final of the first São Paulo State Championship in 1902
Campeonato Acreano (for the state of Acre) between Atlético Acreano and Alto Acre, 2015
Match for the Carioca Championship between Botafogo from the city of Rio de Janeiro and Resende Futebol Clube from the city of Resende, in the interior of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Unlike other states, the Carioca Championship uses the city's gentile and not the state's
Football is the most popular sport in Brazil and a prominent part of the country's national identity. The Brazil national football team has won the FIFA World Cup five times, the most of any team, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. Brazil and Germany are the only teams to succeed in qualifying for all the World Cups for which they entered the qualifiers; Brazil is the only team to participate in every World Cup competition ever held. Brazil has also won an Olympic gold medal, at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro and at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Night view of Maracanã Stadium, June 2013.
Garrincha (left), Brazilian winger and 1962 World Cup star, is regarded as one of the greatest dribblers of all time.
The 1970 FIFA World Cup-winning Brazil team, considered by many distinguished commentators as the greatest football team ever
Grenal, one of the fiercest football rivalries in the world.
