Brazil - Campeonato Pernambucano 1

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The Campeonato Pernambucano 1, known as the Campeonato Pernambucano de Futebol in full, is the top-flight league for the state of Pernambuco in Brazil. The tournament is organized by the Federação Pernambucana de Futebol (FPF) and began in 1915.

As is true with several of Brazil’s regional leagues, this competition, which typically runs from January to April/June, precedes the national top-flight Brasileiro. The inaugural Campeonato Pernambucano title was won by Flamengo de Recife, a club founded in 1914 but later dissolved.

The Campeonato Pernambucano 1 has undergone format changes over the years. In 2017, for example, 12 teams contested for the title, with three being given a bye to the second round while the remaining 11 were drawn into three groups of three. In 2018, they ditched this format and placed all 11 contestants in a single group for the first round, which was a single round-robin phase. Each team faced the other 10 once, with the eight highest-placed sides moving on to the knockout stage and the bottom two being relegated. The quarter-finals, semi-finals, and third-place playoff were single-leg affairs while the final was held over two legs.

The 2019 edition followed a similar format to that of the year before but the number of participants decreased once more with only 10 clubs taking part. Things were shaken up once more come the 2020 season as the top two teams from the 10 qualified straight for the semi-finals while the teams in places three to six faced off in the quarter-finals first in order to make the last four. The bottom four teams entered the relegation phase, which was a separate single round-robin tournament with each side facing the other three clubs once. The bottom two teams after this round completed were promised relegation to the second division.