I love watching the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, as it showcases some of the world’s finest soccer. While I rarely find matches broadcast on cable television, I’ve discovered several excellent streaming options that let me catch all the action.
In a hurry? US fans have a great option: Paramount+. All the games are streamed live and then on-demand.
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The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (also called Brasileirão Série A or just Brasileirão) is the top soccer league in Brazil, one of the world’s epicenters of the sport. It is also widely regarded as one of the world’s top leagues.
Its revenues generally place it only behind five European leagues. And the IFFHS even ranked it as the best in 2021. Meanwhile, its teams have won four FIFA Club World Cups.
Brasileiro matches may be viewed through a number of outlets in the United States. These include Paramount+, ViX, and Fanatiz.
If you are looking for Portuguese coverage, check out Sling TV. And see our guide on Brazilian soccer.
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
In 1894, soccer was introduced to the country, thanks to Thomas Donohoe, who emigrated to Brazil that year. The first match took place in Rio de Janeiro. Eight years later, São Paulo’s state championship, Campeonato Paulista, started play, becoming the country’s oldest competition.
Because Brazil is a large nation and its transportation options across it were limited until the 1950s, a national championship competition was not played here until 1959. This was well after they had started being held in other countries around the world, including throughout South America.
In its history, Brazil’s championship has been known by many different names:
- Taca Brasil (1959-68)
- Torneo Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (1967-70)
- Campeonato Nacional (1971-73)
- Copa Brasil (1974-79)
- Taca de Ouro (1980-83)
- Copa Brasil (1984)
- Taca de Ouro (1985)
- Copa Brasil (1986-88)
- Campeonato Brasileiro (1989-99)
- Copa Joao Havelange (2000)
- Campeonato Brasileiro (2001-present).
Heading into the 2022 season, Palmeiras had secured the most national championships with 10. The club was followed by Santos and Flamengo, which both won the title eight times.
Atlético Mineiro claimed its second title in 2021, which occurred 50 years after its first. The club cruised to the 2021 championship, securing 84 points, which were 13 more than second-place Flamengo. Rounding out the top five in the table that year were Palmeiras, Fortaleza, and Corinthians.
Meanwhile, the clubs that finished in the top four positions in Serie B and moved up to Brazil’s top league for the 2022 campaign were Botafogo, Goiás, Coritiba, and Avaí.
2023 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Teams
- América Mineiro
- Athletico Paranaense
- Atlético Mineiro
- Bahia
- Botafogo
- Corinthians
- Coritiba
- Cruzeiro
- Cuiabá
- Flamengo
- Fluminense
- Fortaleza
- Goiás
- Grêmio
- Internacional
- Palmeiras
- Red Bull Bragantino
- Santos
- São Paulo
- Vasco da Gama
Structure
Campeonato Brasileiro comprises 20 teams, and each plays 38 matches, one at home and one away versus the competition’s other clubs. In 2022, the season was scheduled to run from Apr 9th to Nov 13th. Most teams are located in the southern half of Brazil with three apiece in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
The top six clubs in the final table qualify for the following season’s Copa Libertadores. The six teams below them play in the Copa Sudamericana.
Meanwhile, the bottom four clubs are relegated to Campeonato Brasileiro Serie B, to be replaced by the top four teams in that competition.
No more than five non-Brazilian players may be included on any club’s matchday roster. The number of foreigners on a team who are eligible to be selected to that matchday roster is unlimited, however.
Related Competitions
A unique feature of Brazilian football is the existence and importance of state championships. These are completely separate competitions.
Generally, only a few teams in each state championship also take part in national championship leagues, which consist of Series A, B, C, and D. State championships are usually played from around January to April so that the bigger clubs can participate in both.
Brazil’s domestic cup competition is the Copa do Brasil. The victor qualifies for the Copa Libertadores. The winner of that also plays the Campeonato Brasileiro winner in the next season’s Supercopa do Brasil. Various other cup competitions, both regional and state-wide, are held across Brazil as well.
The Copa Libertadores is essentially the CONMEBOL Champions League as it incorporates the best teams from leagues throughout South America. The Copa Sudamericana is a continent-wide second-tier competition. Numerous Brazilian clubs take part in these competitions.
In some cases, a Brazilian team will win the Copa Libertadores and qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup. In fact, sides from this country sometime win it. This occurred in 2000 (Corinthians), 2005 (São Paulo), 2006 (Internacional), and 2012 (Corinthians). The only country with more titles is Spain, which has seven.
Watching Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
There are several ways that you can watch Campeonato Brasileiro Série A matches.
- Paramount+: For just $7.99/month, it provides a major resource for content from this league. Its match coverage includes English-language commentary. All games from the season are available here, both live and, soon after they end, as archived streams. Paramount+ is also a resource for the Argentina Primera Division, the UEFA Champions League, and numerous other soccer-related and other sports events. (Paramount+ review)
- Fanatiz: Also offers Campeonato Brasileiro Série A games through its Front Row plan ($9.99/mo). It includes access to Brasileirao Play, which provides streams for every match all season long. Also included in that price are soccer must-haves like beIN Sports and GolTV. (Fanatiz review)
- ViX: Provides a means to watch Campeonato Brasileiro Série A matchups at no cost as long as you do not mind or prefer coverage being accompanied by Spanish-language announcers. This service, which is offered by TelevisaUnivision, features access to top leagues in Argentina, Colombia, and Peru as well.
Devices to Live Stream Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
All three streaming services above support the most common devices:
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android mobile devices
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- iOS (iPhone and iPad)
- Roku
- Web browsers.
Paramount+ supports a number of other devices including: LG, Samsung, and VIZIO smart TVs, Xfinity Flex, and PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles.
Wrapping Up
Those interested in Brazilian soccer will surely want to catch Campeonato Brasileiro matches. It should also be of interest to general soccer fans.
Although so much of the interest in soccer worldwide is focused on European leagues, this competition is a top-level one as well. And it can be enjoyed for free, thanks to ViX, or very inexpensively with subscriptions to Paramount+ ($7.99/month) and Fanatiz ($9.99/mo).
FAQs
How good is the Campeonato Brasileiro?
The Campeonato Brasileiro is one of the world’s best leagues. In fact, the IFFHS ranked it as the best in the world in 2021, ahead of England’s Premier League and Italy’s Serie A. In actuality, it probably is not quite that good of a league, but it is easily in the world’s top 10, according to most experts. Its teams have won four FIFA Club World Cups and 21 Copa Libertadores trophies.
How many levels make up the Brazilian soccer pyramid?
In Brazil, there are four nationwide leagues: Serie A, Serie B, Serie C, and Serie D. Otherwise, clubs take part in state championships. In fact, all of the teams in the nationwide leagues also participate in those state championships. As a result of these two types of competitions being generally separate, it is possible, albeit unlikely, for a team to be relegated from a state championship while remaining in Serie A.
How do I watch other soccer leagues and events without cable?
Check out the following guides:
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My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.
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