Campeonato Brasileiro Série C
The Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, commonly known as the Série C or the Brazilian Série C to distinguish it from the Italian Serie C, is the third tier of the Brazilian football league system.
Unlike the first and second divisions, the Série C is not played in a double round robin system, and the tournament is organized in a different format.
From 1981 to 2008, it was the lowest national division of the country. However, beginning in 2009, the Série C was reduced from 64 teams to 20 and the new Campeonato Brasileiro Série D was introduced. In its current format, the first phase is played in a single round, with 19 matches. The top eight teams qualify for a second stage and the top two of each 4-team group are promoted to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, and the group winners decide the title. The four lowest-placed teams are relegated to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série D.
History
Until 2008, the Série C was the lowest national division of Brazil. The teams that had been relegated from the Série B in the previous year were joined by teams qualified through each state championship, with those being the best teams not in the Série A, Série B or the four relegated to Série C. Qualification rules varied from state to state, with some federations using the state tournaments as qualification tournaments, and others organizing state cups, which served as qualification tournaments to the Série C.From 2009 onwards, the competition was reduced to 20 teams. In the first format, the first stage was played in four groups of five teams each, and a 8-team knockout phase. In 2011, the final round was played in two groups of four. From 2012, the competition was played in two groups of ten teams in the first phase, with an 8-team knockout stage. This format was maintained until 2020, when the competition's Technical Council decided to make a change in the second phase, reintroducing two groups of four to determine the promoted teams and finalists, as in 2011. In 2022, in turn, the first phase was then played in a single round, with 19 matches instead of 18. The eight best teams qualify for the second phase, which is played in the same format as before, while the four lowest-placed teams are relegated.
There are calls to introduce the same format as the Série A and Série B, however this format hasn't yet been introduced to the competition.
