Brazil - Campeonato Paulista A1

The Campeonato Paulista A1 is the top-flight football league competition in Sao Paolo and is exclusive to clubs from that region; featuring some of the best football talents Brazil has on offer. This tournament is run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF) and is the oldest established league in the country, founded in 1902 and turning professional in 1933.

The Paulista Championship features 16 football teams from that region that are organized into 4 groups (A, B, C, and D). The top-flight tournament is structured into two phases. Teams play 12 matches in the initial phase, with each club facing every side from the other three groups once. After this phase concludes, the top two teams from each group move on to the quarter-finals while the two last-placed teams with the worst points tally from the four groups are relegated to the Paulista A2. The quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final are two-legged affairs. The team with superior group-stage performance is awarded the home advantage in the second leg of each match-up.

The top four clubs with most international stardom include Palmeiras, Sao Paulo, Santos and Corinthians, with their rivalry drawing spotlight to the Campeonato Paulista A1. The season usually kicks off in January and wraps up in April but in 2020, the campaign underwent suspension during the later stages of the initial phase due to the coronavirus pandemic.