Founded 1989 Number of teams 86 Most successful club(s) Grêmio
(5 titles) | Region Brasil Current champions Grêmio
(5th title) | |
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Television broadcasters Rede Globo
ESPN Brasil
SporTV
Fox Sports | ||
The Copa do Brasil (English: Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 86 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. The Copa do Brasil is an opportunity for teams from smaller states to play against the big teams and episodes of giant-killing have happened at a regular rate throughout the competition's history. It is currently sponsored by Continental AG and is thus currently known as the Copa Continental Pneus do Brasil for sponsorship reasons. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, Copa del Rey, Coupe de France, Coppa Italia, DFB-Pokal, and Copa Argentina, among others.
Contents
From 2001 to 2012, the Copa do Brasil was played in the first half of the year and in those seasons, due to the busy schedule in the first half of the year in Brazil, teams playing in the Copa Libertadores de América were not allowed to participate in the Copa do Brasil in the same year.
Since 2013, the tournament has run from March to November. Teams that contest the Copa Libertadores de América join the Copa do Brasil directly in Round of 16. Also, the best 8 teams from the previous year's Campeonato Brasileiro Série A eliminated up to the third round qualify for Copa Sudamericana.
Format
The competition is a single elimination knockout tournament featuring two-legged ties. In the first two rounds, if the away team wins the first match by 2 or more goals, it progresses straight to the next round avoiding the second leg. The away goals rule is used in the Copa do Brasil, which is an unusual feature when compared to other South American competitions. For example, the Copa Libertadores did not adopt this rule until 2005. However, away goals rule is not applied if both teams are from the same city, like happened in 2006 Semi-Final (Fluminense and Vasco) and Final (Flamengo and Vasco) and in 2014 final (Cruzeiro and Atlético Mineiro).
The winner qualifies for the next year's Copa Libertadores de América.
Eligible teams
The eligible teams to compete in the Copa do Brasil are the 70 best-placed clubs in the state championships, in which the number of spots per state range from one to three clubs, plus ten clubs best placed in CBF's ranking.
The 5 Brazilians teams in the Copa Libertadores da América plus the best placed in the previous year's Campeonato Brasileiro Série A will join the Copa do Brasil directly in Round of 16.
History
Because it is a knock-out competition, Copa do Brasil provides plenty of opportunities for dramatic matches to happen.
The Copa do Brasil was created in 1989 by CBF as a way of integration of all clubs throughout Brazil, allowing smaller clubs to have a chance to play against the most famous teams.
In September 2014 Grêmio were banned from competing in the 2014 Copa do Brasil after some of their fans were seen racially abusing an opposition player.