If there is no Flamengo, the Copinha has 22 debuting teams in 2026. They are: Águia de Marabá-PA, Araçatuba-SP, Athletic-MG, Batalhão-TO, Centro Olímpico-SP, Cosmopolitano-SP, Esporte de Patos-PB, Esportiva Real-RR, Guanabara City-GO, I9-SP, Independente-AP, Itaquá-SP, Maricá-RJ, Maruinense-SE, Meia-Noite-SP, Naviraiense-MS, QFC-RN, Quixadá-CE, Real-RS, Real Soccer-SP, São Luís-MA and União Cacoalense-RO.
Of the seven debutants from São Paulo, five will be the “home teams”. Only Centro Olímpico and I9, which are from São Paulo and Ribeirão Preto, respectively, will play outside their cities — in Mogi das Cruzes and Cravinhos.
One of the newcomers will even play the opening game of the Copinha. Tomorrow, at 8:45 am (Brasília time), Meia-Noite will face Real-RR, in Patrocínio Paulista, in the first duel of the competition.
Dispute format
The Copinha competition format remains the same as in recent years. The 128 participating teams were divided into 32 groups with four teams each. The brackets will be played within the same venue located within the state of São Paulo.
After the three group stage games, the two best placed teams in each group advance to the knockout stage.. From there, the teams will face each other in single elimination games.
