THE Brazil 2025 he finished. Few clubs have commitments yet this year, but most of them are already thinking about 2026. The country’s main competition will, however, see a series of changes, including financial fair play, VAR and a niche for World Cup.
This Sunday afternoon (7) was that of definitions. The two clubs which will play Series B in 2026 in addition to Sport and Juventude, entered into the already relegated peloton. Due to a series of combinations, the other two teams that closed the Z-4 were Strength (18th) and the Ceara (17th). Access the elite via Series B CoritibaAthletico-PR, Chapecoense and Rowingrespectively.
Different calendar and “mini vacation”
One of the main features of Brasileirão 2026 is its “different” calendar. In 2025, the competition began in the first week of April, due to the end of most national tournaments in Brazil. Next year, however, the ball will roll much earlier than usual.
The Brasileirão 2026 will start on January 28with a forecast of ends December 2. The change implemented by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) takes into account, among other things, the World Cup holidays, which this year will take place between June 11 and July 19.
One of the biggest complaints from players and managers is the high number of commitments during the year. This initiative aims to give players more free time throughout the calendar. The first part will, however, still be quite crowded. National competitions across the country are scheduled to take place between January 11 and March 15. There will therefore be situations in which clubs have two commitments in the same week: one for the Brasileirão and one for the state concerned.
Finally, the 20 Serie A clubs are also confirmed in the Copa do Brasil, which will see a considerable increase in the number of participants: from 96 to 126 teams. These changes were announced by the CBF in October this year and have been discussed for a few seasons.
Semi-automatic offside
Undisputed protagonist of most of the Brasileirão 2025 events, VAR will undergo changes from next year. Video refereeing will still be subject to errors in calls such as ejections and other moves. However, it is expected that the obstacles will be confirmed more precisely and more quickly.
Indeed, the CBF will begin to use semi-automatic offside during the Brasileirão 2026. This technology is already used in Europe and in major tournaments like the World Cup. The objective is to bring more precision and speed to movements in which an attacker finds himself in an irregular situation.
The technology combines both a chip inserted inside the balls and a system of cameras strategically positioned around the field. This equipment works with high-speed images and the sensors will more precisely compare the position of the ball in relation to that of the players.
A 3D image is generated with the support of artificial intelligence. It will then be possible to determine whether certain parts of the body, such as the shoulder and the toe of the shoe, invalidate the shot or not. Today, the technology used by the CBF involves drawing lines, which takes minutes and has a greater margin of error.
Based on the 3D image generated by the computer, the person responsible for video refereeing will take a guide to base their decision. Hence the term “semi-automatic,” because the technology will do much of the work, faster and more accurately.
Fair play financial
The most recent of the proposals implemented by the CBF takes place outside the four lines. More precisely in club coffers. Two weeks ago, the entity officially presented its Fair play financial. The project was detailed during the second edition of Summit Academyan event organized by the entity in São Paulo, and was one of the most anticipated moments of the program. The system comes into effect from the 2026 season.
The model was defined after five meetings of the CBF working group formed by 34 clubs from series A and B of the Brazilian Championship, state federations and experts. Expenditure will be monitored via a unified inspection platform titled National Transfer Matching System (DTMS, National Transfer Tracking System, in free translation) which will contain information on each team’s costs, transfer values, contracts and athletes’ debts.
Publication in the DTMS is a prerequisite for athlete registration in the CBF newsletter. Clubs and athletes can contact, at any time, the organization responsible for managing the Fair play to indicate non-payment of agreed obligations
The CBF’s financial fair play, defined as the Financial Sustainability System (FSS), is based on four pillars:
- Control of overdue debts: determine that clubs have no outstanding payments to relevant creditors, such as other clubs, employees and authorities;
- Operational assessment of the clubs;
- Casting Cost Control: expenditure predominantly proportional to financial capacity;
- Short-term debt control: Clubs maintain a strong capital structure and sustainable levels.
Financial Fair Play establishes specific limits for first and second division clubs in different areas. In terms of casting fees, which include salaries, expenses, image rights and depreciation, Series A is capped at 70% of revenue, while Series B can incur up to 80%. If these values are exceeded, the club will enter a “monitoring” situation.
Regarding short-term debt, both in series A and series B, the debt cannot exceed 45% of annual turnover. If the club does not comply with this rule, it has a transition period until 2030 (referring to the 2029 financial year) to comply.
Finally, the maximum deficit, calculated by the sum of the last three years, also has different limits: in series A the ceiling is R$30 million or 2.5% of revenues (whichever is greater), while in series B the limit is R$10 million or 2.5% of revenues. If the annual report indicates a deficit greater than the authorized level, the club automatically enters “monitoring”.
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