Women's Cearense to feature six teams, no Fortaleza: details | OneFootball

The 2026 Campeonato Cearense Feminino already has its format set. The competition’s Technical Council has established the dates, venues, and structure for the 19th edition of the state tournament, which will feature six teams.

The ball starts rolling on October 10, without Fortaleza, the current state champion. The club will not take part in this year’s edition, ending a run that began in 2019, when it resumed its women’s football program.

With the Leoas out, the state championship will have a different setup compared to recent seasons. The competition will be made up of two groups of three teams, organized according to a regionalization criterion.

Regionalization defines the groups

Group A will include Ceará, Maracanã, and The Blessed. Group B will feature R4, Hiroos Cariri, and São Gonçalo. The division of the teams takes the clubs’ locations into account and aims to organize the first phase on a regional basis.

The matches will be split between Fortaleza and the Cariri region. In the first phase, for example, each team will play three matches against rivals from its own group. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.

Semifinals will be single-leg matches

From the semifinals onward, the Campeonato Cearense Feminino will have knockout matchups played over a single game. The format makes the competition shorter in the final stretch and removes the possibility of a team deciding qualification over two matches.

The first pairing will be between the Group A leader and the second-place team from Group B. On the other side of the bracket, the Group B leader will face the second-place team from Group A. The winners of the two matchups will qualify for the championship final.

The final will also have only one match

The final will follow the same model as the semifinals, with the title decided in a single match between the winners of the two ties. This means each team will play three matches in the first phase and, for those who qualify, one more semifinal and the final.

The structure also increases the weight of each match. With no second legs in the knockout rounds, any result can immediately determine whether a team stays alive or is eliminated from the tournament.

Fortaleza is out after returning in 2019

Fortaleza’s absence is one of the main storylines of the 2026 edition. The club had resumed women’s football in 2019 and, since then, had regularly been part of the state scene. However, it will not take part in the competition for financial reasons.

As the reigning champion, Fortaleza will not defend its title this season. The decision changes the balance of the competition and opens the door for the other participants to compete for the trophy without the team that won the last edition.

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