Campeonato Brasileiro

The Campeonato Brasileiro is the name for the Brazilian soccer league.

Série C

The Série C is the lowest division of Brazilian football. Any professional or semi-professional team can apply, but only 64 teams take part in the tournament. The teams that descended from Série B are joined by teams qualified for each state federation. Qualification rules vary, some federations use the state tournaments as qualification tournaments, others organize exclusive qualification tournaments to the Série C.

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In 2005, the Série C will be composed of five rounds:

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• In the first round, the 64 teams were divided in 16 groups of 4 teams each. These groups are regional, in other words, only teams from neighboring states can be in a same group. This is done so because many teams of the Série C are poor, and can't afford the expenses of a far travel to play in a distant state. Teams in each group play against each other in home and away games.
• The two best ranked teams of each group advance to the second round, where they are paired 2-by-2 and play home and away games. The teams are once again paired with teams of neighboring states.
• The team with most points in each pair advances to the third round. Those 16 teams are once again paired and play home and away games. The pairing tries not to pair teams of distant states, although this is sometimes not possible.
• Once again, the team with most points in each pair advances to the fourth round. Those 8 teams are once again paired to play home and away games.
• Finally, the team with nost points in each pair advances to the final round. The four teams are put in a single group, and play against each other in home and away games. The team with most points is declared champion.

To be champion of Série C in 2005, a team would have to play 18 games. The championship is composed of 260 games.

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The champion and runner-up of Série C win the right to dispute next year's Série B.

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Champions of Série C

2 Etti Jundiaí was later renamed Paulista.

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Titles by Team

1 title: Atlético Goianiense, Avaí, Brasiliense, Etti Jundiaí (Paulista), Fluminense, Ituano, Novorizontino, Olaria, Sampaio Corrêa, Tuna Luso, União Barbarense, União São João, Vila Nova, XV de Piracicaba

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Titles by State

• São Paulo 6 titles
• Goiás 2 titles
• Rio de Janeiro 2 titles
• Distrito Federal 1 title
• Maranhão 1 title
• Pará 1 title
• Santa Catarina 1 title