Campeonato Brasiliense

The Campeonato Brasiliense, also known as Campeonato Metropolitano or Campeonato Candango de Futebol, is the top soccer tournament for the state of Brasilia, in Brazil. The competition was first played in 1959 but ended up becoming a professional league in 1976. It is organized by the Federal District Football Federation, an entity that is supervised by the Brazilian Football Confederation.

Over the years, the format of the competition has been adapted to the number of teams playing the tournament. Due to its proximity, some clubs have been allowed to participate in this competition even if they belong to another state, which has increased the tournament’s level and interest. The winner of the tournament is promoted to the Campeonato Nacional Serie D, unless they are already part of a higher-tier league. Additionally, access to the Copa Verde and the Copa do Brasil is awarded to the winner and the runners-up.

The format of the most recent Candangao editions has seen ten teams playing the competition from January to April. A round-robin stage is held as a regular season, with the top four teams reaching the final stage and the two clubs with the lowest number of points being relegated to Serie B. The teams that make it to the final round enter a semi-final stage, where they are set to play two-leg ties. The winners dispute the title under a similar format, with the highest seed hosting the return leg. Extra time and penalties are used to determine the winner if the aggregate is level after the end of the second game.

Out of the many teams that have played in this competition, two clubs have dominated Campeonato Brasiliense: Gama and Brasiliense. These are the only two teams in this competition to have claimed more than ten titles. Brasiliense even won six titles in a row during the first decade of the 2000s, an amazing feat in all regional leagues.