The Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A (Portuguese pronunciation: [kampjoˈnatu braziˈlejɾu ˈsɛɾii ˈa]; English: Brazilian Championship A Series), commonly referred to as the Brasileirao (Portuguese pronunciation: [brazilejˈɾaw]; English: Big Brazilian), and also known as Brasileirao Assai due to sponsorship with Assai Atacadista, is a Brazilian professional league for men's football clubs. At the top of the Brazilian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie B. In 2021 the competition was chosen by the IFFHS as the strongest national league in South America as well as the strongest in the world.
Due to historical peculiarities and the large geographical size of the country, Brazil has a relatively short history of nationwide football competitions. Only in 1959, with the advancements in civil aviation and air transport and the need to appoint a Brazilian representative to the first edition of the Copa Libertadores was a nationwide tournament created, Taca Brasil. In 1967, the Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo was expanded to include teams from other states, becoming the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, which was also considered a national tournament. The first tournament downright called a national championship was held in 1971, although it was only referred to as "Campeonato Brasileiro" starting in 1989.
In 2010, the champions of national tournaments from 1959 to 1970—Taca Brasil and Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa—have been declared official winners of the Brazilian championship or champions of Brazil (not winners of Brasileirao or Serie A) by the Brazilian Football Confederation. The titles of old tournaments, cited in the Brazilian championship history, are equated to the title of Serie A, but the tournaments are cataloging with their original name in the statistics (despite being different competitions, they confer the same title).
This page also has a version in other languages : Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A (russian)