FPF president on Copinha and Paulistão clashing: "It's a concern"

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Central do Timão

·26 November 2025

FPF president on Copinha and Paulistão clashing: "It's a concern"

By Vinícios Cotrim | Central do Timão Editorial Team

The Paulista Football Federation (FPF) held the event for the launch of the 2026 Copinha last Tuesday night (25). After the group announcements, the president of the entity, Reinaldo Carneiro Bastos, spoke about the organization process and the simultaneous dispute with the state championships.

“It’s kind of like a requirements manual. We conduct a survey with the clubs from the host cities that participated in 25. The vast majority of the hosts give positive feedback, but there are always adjustments. We start making those adjustments. We open registration to be hosts. We contact mayors, sports secretaries, and local clubs. And then we start refining the selection,” began the federation president.

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Photo: TV Central do Timão

“Our department, as soon as the Copinha ends, starts working to choose the future hosts. We have kept most of them. Because even those where we had some difficulties, they fix the problem. And there are always new hosts. And we are very confident in the new hosts,” he added.

With the new calendar drawn up by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), the state championships will start earlier, overlapping with the Copinha, partly due to the stadiums used.

“No. It won’t coincide with the Brazilian Championship. And it’s not the first time it’s played alongside the State Championship (Paulista). Last year, the state championships started on the 15th and the Copinha ended on the 25th. Yes, we are starting a date earlier. It’s a concern, of course it’s a concern. But we are organized so that we don’t need, if necessary, to use the same stadium for the Copinha, for the Paulistão, and for Série A2, because both start on the 11th,” he commented.

Corinthians ended up in the group with XV de Jaú, Trindade-GO, and Luverdente-MT, with the host city being Jaú, in the central-western part of São Paulo state. The competition will begin on January 2, with the schedule yet to be released by the federation. Reinaldo spoke about the importance of Timãozinho in the countryside.

“It’s a party, right? Wherever Corinthians goes, it’s a party. Corinthians has been going to the interior of São Paulo, just like São Paulo has. Palmeiras, after the Barueri stadium stopped representing the interior, Santos went a lot. Just like Flamengo did at the beginning. We choose a host with good pitch conditions, locker rooms, hotel, lighting, to bring these big clubs here. It will certainly be a party in Jaú”

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