Corinthians dress Vila Belmiro for Brasileirão opener after venue switch | OneFootball

Corinthians face Bahia at 20:00 on Wednesday in the 2026 Brasileirão opener, having moved their home game to Vila Belmiro and dressed the stadium in club colours.

According to Meu Timao, the Zito statue outside gate six has been cordoned off to prevent vandalism.

Inside, the Cosmo Damião stand scoreboard carries the Corinthians crest, and the cativas section is lined with black and white flags bearing club slogans. The corner flags also feature the emblem in black and orange, echoing the current third kit.

The match had been scheduled for 29 January at Neo Química Arena, but was brought forward and switched to Vila Belmiro after agreement with Santos, the Federação Paulista de Futebol and the CBF.

The change gives Corinthians an extra day to recover before the Supercopa do Brasil against Flamengo on one February, Sunday, at 16:00 at Mané Garrincha in Brasília. They could not play in the capital on 28 January as São Paulo host Flamengo the same day, the Military Police usually bar two major clubs from playing there, and CBF rules do not permit clubs to host outside their state.

In return, Santos staged the 0-0 draw with Red Bull Bragantino in the fifth round of the Campeonato Paulista last Sunday at Neo Química Arena.

This will be Corinthians’ first official home match at Vila Belmiro. Previously, they were nominal hosts there only in 1986 and 1996 friendlies in the Summer Tournament, beating Grasshopper 3-0 and drawing 1-1 with Cruzeiro.

Source: Meu Timao