Taça Guanabara

The first round of the Campeonato Carioca, with a rich history dating back to 1965.

The Taça Guanabara (English: Guanabara Cup) is an annual football tournament attached to the Campeonato Carioca, the state football league in the Rio de Janeiro state. It has been organized since 1965 by the Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation. It has had different formats throughout its history.

Quick Facts

Organiser: Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation
Founded: 1965
Region: Rio de Janeiro state
Number of teams: 12
Qualifier for: Campeonato Carioca
Current champions: Fluminense (13th title)
Most successful club: Flamengo (25 titles)

Lore & Background

In its first seven editions (1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971), the Taça Guanabara was a tournament in its own right, unrelated to the Campeonato Carioca, and the winner would represent Rio de Janeiro in the Taça Brasil national league competition. From 1972 onward, the cup became the first round of the Campeonato Carioca. Since 2021, the Taça Guanabara is the first single round-robin phase of the Campeonato Carioca. The most successful team in the tournament's history is Flamengo, who have won 25 times.

Reader's Guide

Since 2021, the Taça Guanabara is the first single round-robin phase of the Campeonato Carioca, played by 12 teams. The team that finishes with the most points is the champion. The four best teams advance to the final stage of the Campeonato Carioca, and the clubs that finished 5th to 8th places compete in the Taça Rio. From 2026 onwards, it will divide the clubs into two groups of six each, with matches against the clubs in the other group, which will qualify the top four from each group for the next phase. In 1994 and 1995, the format changed: in 1994, twelve teams were divided into two groups, playing against teams from both groups in a two-phase group stage, then the top team from each group met in a final; in 1995, the number of teams increased to 16 with a similar format. Since 1996, the old format has been adopted again.