Founded 1999 Number of teams 27 Most successful club(s) Paulista (3 titles) | Region São Paulo Current champions Linense (1st title) Television broadcasters RedeTV! | |
The Copa Paulista de Futebol, formerly known as Copa FPF, also sometimes called Copa Federação Paulista de Futebol or, in English, São Paulo State Cup, is a tournament organized by Federação Paulista de Futebol every second half of the season. It is played by São Paulo state teams not playing in the Brazilian League and by reserve teams of Paulista teams playing in the Brazilian League.
Contents
The competition has already had several different names. In 2001, it was named Copa Coca-Cola (Coca-Cola Cup), due to the company's sponsorship. In 2002, it was named Copa Futebol Interior (São Paulo Countryside Football Cup). In 2003 it was named Copa Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo State Cup). From 2004 to 2007 it was named Copa FPF. Since 2008 it is named Copa Paulista de Futebol.
Since 2005, the competition winner gained the right to compete in the following year's Copa do Brasil. Since 2007, the Copa Paulista de Futebol winner competes in Recopa Sul-Brasileira.
Format
In 2005, the competition was contested by 28 clubs divided in four groups of seven clubs each. The clubs played against the other teams of their respective group twice. The four best placed clubs of each group qualified to the second stage. The second stage, as well as the following stages, including the final, were played in two leg matches.
In 2006, the competition was contested by 32 clubs divided in four groups of eight clubs each. The clubs played against the other teams of their respective group twice. The four best placed clubs of each group qualified to the second stage. The second stage, as well as the following stages, including the final, were played in two leg matches.
Similar competitions
There were other competitions similar to the Copa Paulista which were played in the last 20 years and were, in essence, the same as the Copa Paulista. The first one, played in 1999, was the Copa Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo State Cup). Another one, played in 2002, was the Copa Mauro Ramos (Mauro Ramos Cup).