Campeonato Brasileiro Série C

Not to be confused with Serie C.

Campeonato Brasileiro Série C

Founded	1981;44 years ago (1981)
Country	Brazil
Number of clubs	20
Level on pyramid	3
Promotion to	Série B
Relegation to	Série D
Current champions	Volta Redonda (1st title) (2024)
Most championships	Vila Nova (3 titles)
Broadcaster(s)	DAZN Nosso Futebol
Website	Official website
Current: 2025 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.

2025 Série C teams

Team	Home city	State	Stadium	Capacity
ABC	Natal	Rio Grande do Norte	Frasqueirão	18,000
Anápolis	Anápolis	Goiás	Jonas Duarte	14,000
Botafogo-PB	João Pessoa	Paraíba	Almeidão	25,770
Brusque	Brusque	Santa Catarina	Augusto Bauer	5,000
Caxias	Caxias do Sul	Rio Grande do Sul	Centenário	22,132
Confiança	Aracaju	Sergipe	Batistão	15,575
CSA	Maceió	Alagoas	Rei Pelé	17,126
Figueirense	Florianópolis	Santa Catarina	Orlando Scarpelli	19,584
Floresta	Fortaleza	Ceará	Presidente Vargas	20,262
Guarani	Campinas	São Paulo	Brinco de Ouro	29,130
Itabaiana	Itabaiana	Sergipe	Etelvino Mendonça	12,000
Ituano	Itu	São Paulo	Novelli Júnior	18,560
Londrina	Londrina	Paraná	Estádio do Café	31,000
Maringá	Maringá		Willie Davids	16,226
Náutico	Recife	Pernambuco	Aflitos	22,856
Ponte Preta	Campinas	São Paulo	Moisés Lucarelli	19,728
Retrô	Camaragibe	Pernambuco	Arena Pernambuco	44,300
São Bernardo	São Bernardo do Campo	São Paulo	1º de Maio	15,159
Tombense	Tombos	Minas Gerais	Almeidão	3,050
Ypiranga	Erechim	Rio Grande do Sul	Colosso da Lagoa	22,000

Champions

Official champions

The Campeonato Brasileiro has existed since 1971. However, there have been many years when no third division tournament took place. In most cases it was because the two elite divisions had too many clubs (in 1989, for instance, 96 teams contested the second division ^[1] ). The following table shows the winners and runners-up of the Série C tournaments played from 1981, according to the Brazilian Football Confederation: ^[2]

Ed.	Season	Champion	Runner-up
1	1981	Olaria	Santo Amaro [a]
–	1982–1987	Not held
2	1988	União São João	Esportivo
–	1989	Not held
3	1990	Atlético Goianiense	América Mineiro
–	1991	Not held
4	1992	Tuna Luso	Fluminense de Feira
–	1993	Not held
5	1994	Novorizontino	Ferroviária
6	1995	XV de Piracicaba	Volta Redonda
7	1996	Vila Nova	Botafogo
8	1997	Sampaio Corrêa	Juventus
9	1998	Avaí	São Caetano
10	1999	Fluminense	São Raimundo
11	2000	Not held See Copa João Havelange Group Green and White
12	2001	Etti Jundiaí [b]	Mogi Mirim
13	2002	Brasiliense	Marília
14	2003	Ituano	Santo André
15	2004	União Barbarense	Gama
16	2005	Remo	América (RN)
17	2006	Criciúma	Vitória
18	2007	Bragantino	Bahia
19	2008	Atlético Goianiense	Guarani
20	2009	América Mineiro	ASA
21	2010	ABC	Ituiutaba [c]
22	2011	Joinville	CRB
23	2012	Oeste	Icasa
24	2013	Santa Cruz	Sampaio Corrêa
25	2014	Macaé	Paysandu
26	2015	Vila Nova	Londrina
27	2016	Boa Esporte	Guarani
28	2017	CSA	Fortaleza
29	2018	Operário Ferroviário	Cuiabá
30	2019	Náutico	Sampaio Corrêa
31	2020	Vila Nova	Remo
32	2021	Ituano	Tombense
33	2022	Mirassol	ABC
34	2023	Amazonas	Brusque
35	2024	Volta Redonda	Athletic

1. Currently named Manchete.
2. Currently named Paulista.
3. Currently named Boa Esporte.

Unofficial champions

The following season is the part corresponding to the third level of the Copa João Havelange, a competition organized by the Clube dos 13, and is not officially recognized by the CBF: ^{[2] [3]}

Season	Champion	Runner-up	Comments
2000	Malutrom	Uberlândia	It was the Green and White modules of the Copa João Havelange.

Titles by team

Rank	Club	Winners	Winning years
1	Vila Nova	3	1996, 2015, 2020
2	Atlético Goianiense	2	1990, 2008
	Ituano		2003, 2021
4	ABC	1	2010
	Amazonas		2023
	América Mineiro		2009
	Avaí		1998
	Boa Esporte		2016
	Brasiliense		2002
	Criciúma		2006
	CSA		2017
	Fluminense		1999
	Joinville		2011
	Macaé		2014
	Mirassol		2022
	Náutico		2019
	Novorizontino		1994
	Oeste		2012
	Olaria		1981
	Operário Ferroviário		2018
	Paulista		2001
	Red Bull Bragantino		2007
	Remo		2005
	Sampaio Corrêa		1997
	Santa Cruz		2013
	Tuna Luso		1992
	União Barbarense		2004
	União São João		1988
	Volta Redonda		2024
	XV de Piracicaba		1995

Titles by state

State	Nº of titles
São Paulo	10
Goiás	5
Rio de Janeiro	4
Santa Catarina	3
Minas Gerais	2
Pará	2
Pernambuco	2
Alagoas	1
Amazonas	1
Distrito Federal	1
Maranhão	1
Paraná	1
Rio Grande do Norte	1

Participations

Most appearances

As of 2025 season

Below is the list of clubs that have more appearances in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C.

Club	App	First	Last
Confiança	24	1988	2025
Botafogo (PB)	22	1988	2025
Caxias	18	1990	2025
Ferroviário	17	1988	2024
Volta Redonda	17	1988	2024
CSA	16	1990	2025
Tupi	16	1988	2018
Brasil de Pelotas	15	1995	2022
Treze	15	1992	2020
ABC	14	1988	2025
Fortaleza	14	1990	2017
ASA	13	1992	2017
Figueirense	13	1981	2025
Madureira	13	1981	2015
Paysandu	13	1990	2023
Sampaio Corrêa	13	1992	2024
Atlético Goianiense	12	1990	2008
Rio Branco (SP)	12	1994	2006

Clubs promoted from Série C

Year	Clubs
1981	Olaria [a]
1988	None
1990	None
1992	None
1994	Novorizontino, Ferroviária
1995	XV de Piracicaba, Volta Redonda, Gama [b] , Atlético Goianiense [b] , ABC [b] , Joinville [b]
1996	Vila Nova, Botafogo (SP)
1997	Sampaio Corrêa, Juventus
1998	Avaí, São Caetano
1999–2000	See Copa João Havelange
2001	Etti Jundiaí, Mogi Mirim, Guarany de Sobral [c]
2002	Brasiliense, Marília
2003	Ituano, Santo André
2004	União Barbarense, Gama
2005	Remo, América de Natal
2006	Criciúma, Vitória, Ipatinga, Grêmio Barueri
2007	Bragantino, Bahia, Vila Nova, ABC
2008	Atlético Goianiense, Guarani, Campinense, Duque de Caxias
2009	América Mineiro, ASA, Guaratinguetá, Icasa
2010	ABC, Ituiutaba, Criciúma, Salgueiro
2011	Joinville, CRB, Ipatinga, América de Natal
2012	Oeste, Icasa, Chapecoense, Paysandu
2013	Santa Cruz, Sampaio Corrêa, Luverdense, Vila Nova
2014	Macaé, Paysandu, Mogi Mirim, CRB
2015	Vila Nova, Londrina, Tupi, Brasil de Pelotas
2016	Boa Esporte, Guarani, ABC, Juventude
2017	CSA, Fortaleza, Sampaio Corrêa, São Bento
2018	Operário Ferroviário, Cuiabá, Botafogo (SP), Bragantino
2019	Náutico, Sampaio Corrêa, Juventude, Confiança
2020	Vila Nova, Remo, Brusque, Londrina
2021	Ituano, Tombense, Novorizontino, Criciúma
2022	Mirassol, ABC, Botafogo (SP), Vitória
2023	Amazonas, Brusque, Operário Ferroviário, Paysandu
2024	Volta Redonda, Athletic, Ferroviária, Remo

1. ^
   Olaria lost the right to compete in the 1982 Taça de Prata after being relegated in the Campeonato Carioca. ^[4]
2. ^
   Teams promoted after América de Rio Preto, Bangu, Barra do Garças, Ferroviária and Novorizontino withdrew from Série B. ^[5]
3. ^
   Promoted after Malutron withdrew from Série B. ^[6]

Clubs relegated from Série C

Year	Clubs
2010	Alecrim, Juventude, Gama, São Raimundo (PA)
2011	Campinense, Marília, Brasil de Pelotas, Araguaína
2012	Salgueiro, Santo André, Guarany de Sobral, Tupi
2013	Betim [d] , Brasiliense, Grêmio Barueri, Baraúnas, Rio Branco (AC)
2014	São Caetano, Treze, CRAC, Duque de Caxias
2015	Águia de Marabá, Madureira, Icasa, Caxias
2016	América de Natal, Portuguesa, Ríver, Guaratinguetá
2017	Moto Club, Macaé, ASA, Mogi Mirim
2018	Tupi, Juazeirense, Salgueiro, Joinville
2019	ABC, Globo, Luverdense, Atlético Acreano
2020	Treze, São Bento, Boa Esporte, Imperatriz
2021	Jacuipense, Paraná, Santa Cruz, Oeste
2022	Atlético Cearense, Brasil de Pelotas, Ferroviário, Campinense
2023	Manaus, América de Natal, Altos, Pouso Alegre
2024	Sampaio Corrêa, Aparecidense, Ferroviário, São José (RS)
2025	CSA, ABC, Retrô, Tombense

1. ^
   Expelled by the sports court. CRAC is spared from relegation. ^[7]

Topscorers

Year	Player (team)	Goals
1981	Fabinho (Santo Amaro) Pedro Müller (São Borja)	5
1988	Kel (União São João)	9
1990	Júlio César (Atlético Goianiense)	10
1992	Jorge Veras (Ferroviário-CE)	9
1994	Rogerinho (Caldas)	5
1995	Serginho (XV de Piracicaba)	6
1996	Marcelinho (Rio Branco-SP)	16
1997	Marcelo Baron (Sampaio Corrêa)	9
1998	Fabrício (Anapolina)	14
1999	Aldrovani (Figueirense)	14
2000	Murilo (Tuna Luso)	10
2001	Edmilson (Brasiliense) Jean Carlos (Etti Jundiaí) Rodrigo Ayres (Atlético Goianiense)	14
2002	Túlio Maravilha (Brasiliense) Wellington Dias (Brasiliense)	11
2003	Nílson Sergipano (Botafogo-PB)	11
2004	Frontini (União Barbarense) Marciano (Limoeiro) Vítor (Gama)	10
2005	Paulinho Marília (América-RN)	10
2006	Sorato (Bahia)	16
2007	Túlio Maravilha (Vila Nova)	27
2008	Marcão (Atlético Goianiense)	25
2009	Marciano (Icasa) Nena (ASA)	8
2010	Bruno Rangel (Paysandu)	8
2011	Ronaldo Capixaba (Joinville)	11
2012	Dênis Marques (Santa Cruz)	11
2013	Assisinho (Fortaleza)	12
2014	Ytalo (Guaratinguetá)	12
2015	Guilherme Queiróz (Portuguesa)	12
2016	Jones Carioca (ABC)	12
2017	Rafael Grampola (Joinville)	13
2018	Caio Dantas (Botafogo-SP)	11
2019	Eduardo (Treze) Luiz Eduardo (São José-RS) Negueba (Globo) Salatiel (Sampaio Corrêa)	8
2020	Thiago Alagoano (Brusque)	12
2021	Diego Quirino (Ypiranga de Erechim)	10
2022	Alex Henrique (Aparecidense)	12
2023	Sassá (Amazonas)	18
2024	Kayke (São Bernardo) Paulo Sérgio (Náutico)	10

Winning managers

Year	Manager	Club
1981	Duque	Olaria
1988	José Duarte	União São João
1990	Homero Cavalheiro	Atlético Goianiense
1992	Nélio Pereira	Tuna Luso
1994	José Teixeira	Novorizotino
1995	Vadão	XV de Piracicaba
1996	Roberval Davino	Vila Nova
1997	Pinho	Sampaio Corrêa
1998	Roberto Cavalo	Avaí
1999	Carlos Alberto Parreira	Fluminense
2000	Amauri Knevitz	Malutron
2001	Giba	Etti Jundiaí
2002	Gérson Andreotti	Brasiliense
2003	Ruy Scarpino	Ituano
2004	Sérgio Farias	União Barbarense
2005	Roberval Davino (2)	Remo
2006	Guilherme Macuglia	Criciúma
2007	Marcelo Veiga	Bragantino
2008	Mauro Fernandes	Atlético Goianiense
2009	Givanildo Oliveira	América Mineiro
2010	Leandro Campos	ABC
2011	Arturzinho	Joinville
2012	Luís Carlos Martins	Oeste
2013	Vica	Santa Cruz
2014	Josué Teixeira	Macaé
2015	Márcio Fernandes	Vila Nova
2016	Ney da Matta	Boa Esporte
2017	Flávio Araújo	CSA
2018	Gerson Gusmão	Operário Ferroviário
2019	Gilmar Dal Pozzo	Náutico
2020	Márcio Fernandes (2)	Vila Nova
2021	Mazola Júnior	Ituano
2022	Ricardo Catalá	Mirassol
2023	Luizinho Vieira	Amazonas
2024	Rogério Corrêa	Volta Redonda

See also

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the main division of Brazilian football
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, the second division of Brazilian football
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série D, the fourth division of Brazilian football

References

1. "Brazil 2nd Level 1989 Divisão Especial" Archived December 29, 2017, at the Wayback Machine . Rssf.
2. "Campeões" (in Portuguese). CBF. Archived from the original on October 14, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
3. Enciclopédia do Futebol Brasileiro Lance Volume 2. Rio de Janeiro: Aretê Editorial S/A. 2001. p. 387. ISBN   85-88651-01-7.
4. "Brazil 2nd Level 1982". RSSSF. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
5. "Com quedas inéditas, veja como ficou o ranking de rebaixamentos no futebol brasileiro". Atualiza Bahia (in Portuguese). December 10, 2019. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
6. "Malutron desiste de disputar Série B". Estadão (in Portuguese). July 20, 2002. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
7. "CRAC ganha briga e fica com vaga do Betim na Série C". Estadão (in Portuguese). April 18, 2014. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.

External links

• CBF - Brazilian Football Confederation
• RSSSF Brazil links