São Paulo, Vitória Cup partner, brand on Tricolor shorts in 2026 | OneFootball

São Paulo and the Vitória Cup, which brands itself as 'the largest pre-season tournament in Brazil', announced an exhibition partnership on Friday night (5), but there is still no confirmation of Tricolor's games in the friendly tournament that will take place next year.

The Vitória Cup announced that it is now the newest sponsor of São Paulo until the end of 2026. From now on, the brand will be displayed on the front of the team's shorts.

The partnership, however, has not yet confirmed Tricolor's games in the pre-season competition, which will be held both at the beginning of the year, without São Paulo's participation, and also in mid-2026, during the 2026 World Cup. At that time, Tricolor is still negotiating its participation.

As revealed by AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR last month, the club's participation depends on Crespo's approval, as well as a possible qualification for the Libertadores, in case the team finishes 8th in the Brasileirão and Cruzeiro or Fluminense wins the Copa do Brasil.

The competition is actually a series of friendlies between Brazilian and foreign clubs, held in the capital of Espírito Santo (hence the name) this year.

According to the AMT report, the participation of the Tricolor club is not being treated very optimistically. In fact, the decision will only be made after determining whether or not they will compete in the preliminary phase of the Copa Libertadores.

Besides that, coach Hernán Crespo will have a crucial opinion in the decision, given the promise of an intense schedule next year due to changes promoted by the CBF and the start of the Campeonato Paulista already scheduled for the second week of January.

In other words, as reported, São Paulo is considering the Vitória Cup as a revenue alternative for the middle of next year, when the Brazilian and continental calendar will pause for the World Cup.

Model and teams already confirmed

The planning for the Vitória Cup involves holding at least 12 friendly matches. Six in January, six in July. It is not a competition, but rather a series of standalone matches that award a trophy. In the early-year matches, the plan is for Brazilians to face South Americans. During the World Cup, national teams will compete against Europeans.

The official website confirms the participation of Santos, Botafogo, Cruzeiro, and Santa Cruz in the national lineup. And Olímpia (Paraguay), América de Cali (Colombia), Vélez Sarsfield, Defensa y Justicia (Argentinians), Sporting Cristal (Peru), and the European Villareal (Spain). The promise is that all participants will be revealed on December 8.

"The idea, at this first moment, is not to bring in major powers, but teams of good level, like Sevilla and Valencia. In Portugal, we might get Benfica or Porto," said Vinícius Domingues, the event organizer. For January, the idea is to recreate Libertadores finals, always with one national team and another South American team.

The aspect that catches our attention is the CEO's statement almost guaranteeing Morumbi as a venue for matches. By saying "affirm," he has already secured the São Paulo home. This increases speculation about São Paulo's presence, which is expected to be confirmed next Monday (8).

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