Brazil · 2026

Brazilian Copa do Nordeste Predictions, Fixtures & Standings

The Copa do Nordeste de Futebol (also known as Nordestão, Campeonato do Nordeste and Lampions League) is a football competition played between teams from the Northeast region of Brazil. Considered one of the most important regional championships in the country (by some, the most important), the "Nordestão" was an intermittent competition in the Brazilian football calendar in its early years. First officially organized in 1994, the tournament was played continuously between 1997 and 2003, when it became organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). Almost all of its editions were canceled between 2004 and 2012, with the exception of the 2010 edition. It returned to the Brazilian football calendar again in 2013. Between the 1997 and 1999 editions, the champion also guaranteed a place in the Copa Conmebol, but from the 2000 to 2013 editions the champion did not guarantee a place because the Copa Conmebol was abolished. Between the 2014 and 2016 editions, the champions obtained a place in the Copa Sudamericana of the same year. In 2017 to 2019, the champion would guarantee a direct place in the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil of the following year. From 2020 onwards, the champion also obtains a place in the national tournament of the following year in the third phase of the competition. In the 19 editions held, there were nine champion clubs. Bahia and Vitória (rival clubs from Salvador, who face off in the Ba-Vi derby) are the biggest winners of the "Nordestão", with four titles each. Sport, Ceará and Fortaleza were champions on three occasions. América de Natal, Campinense, Santa Cruz and Sampaio Corrêa have one title each. Campinense and Sampaio Corrêa, champions of the 2013 and 2018 editions, respectively, were the only teams to win the tournament without conceding a goal on their home turf. The most-repeated matchup in the competition's history is between Vitória and América de Natal, with 21 matches. There were 14 wins for the red-black team from Bahia, 4 for the red-and-white team from Rio Grande do Norte, and 3 draws. In 2022, the tournament's vice-president, Constantino Júnior, confirmed that there will now be 36 teams instead of 20 in order to give more teams the opportunity to participate in the competition. There will be three knockout rounds, which could lead to the creation of a second division of the Copa do Nordeste and establish a system of access and relegation between the series.