Campeonato Paulista 2026 Guide: Preview, Teams, New Format, Live Streaming – All You Need To Know

The Campeonato Paulista Serie A1 2026, officially branded as Paulistao Casas Bahia 2026, will be the 125th edition of Sao Paulo’s top-tier state football championship. One of Brazil’s oldest professional competitions, the tournament will be staged between January 10 and March 8, 2026.

Corinthians begin the season as defending champions after winning the 2025 title, and will once again be among the favourites.

Campeonato Paulista 2026: Teams Competing

A total of 16 clubs will participate in this season’s Paulista championship. The line-up features Sao Paulo football’s traditional heavyweights –Corinthians, Palmeiras, Santos, and Sao Paulo FC – alongside other sides from Brazil’s top-flight Serie A1.

The season also marks the arrival of two promoted teams, Primavera and Capivariano, who earned their places after strong performances in the 2025 Sarie A2. For Primavera, the campaign marks their first-ever appearance in the top division in over 100 years of existence.

Campeonato Paulista 2026: New Format Explained

For 2026, the Sao Paulo Football Federation (FPF) has overhauled the competition structure, drawing inspiration from the UEFA Champions League-style league phase. The objective is to reduce fixture congestion.

Teams were divided into four seeded pots, with a draw conducted on November 11, 2025, to finalise the first-phase fixtures. Each club will play eight matches, facing opponents drawn from other pots rather than playing every team in a traditional round-robin system.

Despite the altered scheduling, all results still feed into one unified league table.

Campeonato Paulista 2026: Qualification And Relegation

At the end of the league phase, the top eight teams in the standings will qualify for the knockout stage. The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be decided through single-leg matches, with home advantage awarded to the higher-ranked team from the league phase.

The final will return to a traditional two-leg format, with the club that performed better across the season hosting the decisive second leg. At the other end of the table, the bottom two teams after the first phase will be relegated to Sarie A2 for the 2027 season.

Campeonato Paulista 2026: Pots

• Pot A: Corinthians, Palmeiras, Santos, Sao Paulo

• Pot B: Mirassol, Novorizontino, Red Bull Bragantino, Sao Bernardo

• Pot C: Guarani, Ponte Preta, Portuguesa, Velo Clube

• Pot D: Botafogo-SP, Capivariano, Noroeste, Primavera

Campeonato Paulista 2026: Live Streaming Details

The various matches in the Campeonato Paulista 2026 will be shown live in Brazil on various platforms. Fans can watch the matches live on TNT, Claro TV+, Max Brasil, Sky+, Vivo Play, Zapping, CazeTV, Vivo Play, PlayPlus, and R7.