Paulistão unveils new format and first round fixtures, check them out | OneFootball

The São Paulo Football Federation presented this Tuesday, at the Arena Mercado Livre Pacaembu, the new Paulistão competition system, similar to the Champions League, along with the matchups for the first phase.

The first phase of the State Championship will continue to be played in a round-robin format, but the teams will no longer be divided into groups. The championship will be played in a league format, with each team having eight matches to play.

Although the first phase matchups were determined by a draw, the São Paulo Football Federation ensured that the major clubs would face each other, preserving the most appealing clashes, such as derbies and games between teams currently in the top tier of national football.

The teams were divided into four pots for the draw. In pot A: Palmeiras, Corinthians, São Paulo, and Santos. In pot B: São Bernardo, Mirassol, Novorizontino, and Red Bull Bragantino. In pot C: Ponte Preta, Portuguesa, Guarani, and Velo Clube. In pot D: Capivariano, Primavera, Botafogo-SP, and Noroeste.

The clubs in pot A will face all the others in the same pot, as well as two teams from pot B, two from pot C, and one from pot D. The order, dates, and times of the matches are yet to be determined.

The top eight teams from the first phase will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played as single matches, as will the semifinals. The final, however, will continue to be played over two legs.

There is, however, a scheduling conflict. The CBF has determined that the State Championships be played over 11 dates. If any of the finalists are involved in the Pre-Libertadores, the final will be a single match. Otherwise, the final will be played over two legs.

The new competition system was created to solve a longstanding debate in the Paulistão. Many teams ended up in tougher groups and failed to qualify, even with better campaigns than some teams from other groups who advanced to the quarterfinals. Now, the eight best campaigns will be rewarded with qualification.

Another novelty for the new edition of the Campeonato Paulista is the implementation of semi-automatic offside technology. The São Paulo Football Federation will hire the company responsible for the technology to provide the service starting from the quarterfinals.

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