Campeonato Carioca: all you need to know about the 2026 state championship | OneFootball

The 2026 Campeonato Carioca will kick off this Sunday (11th), with a match between Flamengo and Portuguesa-RJ. Check out the details:

Debut

Flamengo vs Portuguesa-RJ marks the beginning of the 2026 edition of the Cariocão. The match will be held at the Raulino de Oliveira stadium in Volta Redonda at 6 PM (Brasília time), with broadcast by Sportv and Premiere.

The game is an early match of the fifth round of the tournament due to Flamengo's participation in the Supercopa do Brasil, scheduled for February 1st.

See also: All Flamengo news Gazeta Esportiva's YouTube Channel Follow Gazeta Esportiva on Instagram

Where to Watch

Rede Globo has signed an agreement and will exclusively broadcast the 2026 Campeonato Carioca on:

Open TV – TV Globo (one game per round)

Closed TV – Sportv (two games per round)

YouTube – GE TV (one game per round)

Pay-per-view – Premiere (all tournament games)

New Regulations

In 2026, FERJ introduces a new regulation for the Cariocão.

Groups

Unlike previous years, the 2026 competition will be contested by 12 teams divided into two groups of six.

In the first phase, Group A teams face Group B teams in a single round, and the best team overall will be declared the Taça Guanabara champion.

The top four from each group advance to the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final. Only the semi-final will have home and away games, with no draw advantage in any phase.

Relegation

The two lowest-ranked teams from each group will compete for relegation to the Carioca Série A2 in a new group formed among them. The clubs will face each other in two rounds, and the team with the lowest points will be relegated.

Taça-Rio

The Taça-Rio will be decided between the quarter-final losers in a parallel knockout with single-match semi-finals and finals.

Main Knockout

The qualifiers from each group will cross in the quarter-finals in a 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd format, with the semi-final matches still between teams from the same group, with home and away games. 

The grand final will be decided, necessarily, between the Group A and Group B qualifiers in a single match at Maracanã.

Prizes

The Campeonato Carioca will once again offer cash prizes after six years due to an agreement reached in a meeting of the Arbitral Council by the Série A1 clubs in November 2025. Thus, teams will receive extra quotas as they advance in the competition.

First Phase Groups

Group A: Fluminense, Vasco, Volta Redonda, Sampaio Corrêa, Portuguesa, and Bangu.

Group B: Flamengo, Botafogo, Madureira, Maricá, Boavista, and Nova Iguaçu.

Expectations

The four major Rio teams arrive with mixed expectations for the Cariocão.

Flamengo

The current champion emerges as the great favorite to lift the trophy for the third consecutive time after the magical 2025 season. As usual, the club will field the under-20 team for the first rounds of the tournament. The professional squad will only return the day after the debut, and it's expected that players from the main team will start being used in the third round, against Vasco da Gama, Flamengo's fourth match.

Photo: Adriano Fontes/Flamengo

Fluminense

After a season of ups and downs in 2025, the Tricolor das Laranjeiras, led by Argentine Luis Zubeldía, ended the year showing good football and qualifying for the Libertadores group stage, despite the tough elimination by Vasco in the Copa do Brasil semi-final. 

The club has been active in this transfer window, notably with the departure of idol Thiago Silva to Porto, Portugal, and the arrival of left-back Guilherme Arana from Atlético Mineiro. The tricolor fans hope for a season of contention for major titles.

Photo: Lucas Merçon / Fluminense F.C.

Botafogo

The year 2025 for the Glorious was marked by a worrying political and financial crisis with SAF owner John Textor at the center of the controversies. The season as a secondary player in Brazilian football was not what the fans expected after winning the Brasileirão and Libertadores in 2024. 

In 2026, the club will have to compete in the Pre-Libertadores, starting the year with much distrust from the fans and weakened by the departure of former captain Marlon Freitas to Palmeiras. Additionally, key players like Savarino and Alexander Barboza are also rumored to be moving to direct rivals of the Alvinegro.

Photo: Vitor Silva/Botafogo

Vasco da Gama

With the defeat in the Copa do Brasil final in December to Corinthians, Vasco's season end turned tragic, and the year that at some point seemed promising, with moments of brilliance from Fernando Diniz's team, once again disappointed the club's fans.

For 2026, Vasco maintained the core of its team and bet on the continuity of Diniz's work, with its fans longing for achievements, as the club hasn't lifted significant trophies since 2016, when it was the Carioca champion.

(Photo: PABLO PORCIUNCULA / AFP)

First Round Matches

14/01: Volta Redonda vs Boavista

14/01: Fluminense vs Madureira

14/01: Bangu vs Flamengo

15/01: Sampaio Corrêa – RJ vs Nova Iguaçu

15/01: Portuguesa-RJ vs Botafogo

15/01: Vasco vs Maricá

Last Year

In 2025, Flamengo won its 39th Carioca title, extending its lead as the tournament's most successful club, by defeating Fluminense in the final with a 2-1 aggregate score.

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