2026 Série B to feature play-offs and matches during the World Cup | OneFootball

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) announced during the Arbitral Council meeting of the Série B this Thursday, the creation of "playoffs" between the teams that finish the Second Division of the Brazilian Championship in the 3rd to 6th positions.

How will it work?

With the proposal, approved by the majority of votes from the club representatives present, the two remaining promotion spots will be decided after the end of the round-robin competition, with home and away matches. The 3rd place team will face the 6th, and the 4th will compete against the 5th.

"Seeking possibilities to create greater commercial value, greater attractiveness for the Série B competition, we proposed for debate and voting among the 20 clubs present at the Council meeting, the cherry on top of today's meeting, with the implementation of the Playoff. Starting this year in Série B, the clubs that finish from third to sixth, that is, these four clubs, will play two matches, home and away, to determine the last two clubs that will be promoted along with the first and second place in the overall standings to Série A in the year 2027," said Julio Avellar, CBF's director of competitions.

New calendar

Another major change was the clubs' decision to alter the initial calendar, which planned a break during the World Cup period. Now, Série B will continue with games while the World Cup is ongoing.

"With this, we will be able to space out the games more, which increases the technical level, helps in the preparation and physical recovery of the athletes, and even in the logistics of the clubs," concluded Julio Avellar.

Financial support

Aiming to strengthen the economic sustainability of the competition, the CBF established the creation of the Financial Restructuring Support Program for Série B Clubs.

Through the program, the entity confirmed that it will continue to fully finance logistics expenses (transportation and accommodation), anti-doping tests, and arbitration fees for the competition. However, the clubs will have to meet some requirements implemented along with the new program.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.