CAMPEONATO CEARENSE · History

The Campeonato Cearense is the state club football championship of Ceará, in north-eastern Brazil. The first edition was played in 1915 as a tournament of the Liga Metropolitana Cearense de Futebol. Ceará Sporting Club won it, and won the next four as well, through 1919. The Federação Cearense de Desportos ran the competition from 1941 to 1972. The Federação Cearense de Futebol has run it since 1973.

From leagues to a federation (1915-1940)

The Liga Metropolitana ran the tournament from 1915 to 1919. The Associação Desportiva Cearense took over from 1920 to 1940. Fortaleza won their first title in 1920, won again in 1921 and took three in a row between 1926 and 1928. From then on Ceará and Fortaleza won most editions between them, but there were other champions: Maguari in 1929 and 1936, Orion in 1930, América in 1935 and Tramways in 1940. Professional football came to Ceará through Ferroviário, who earned a place in the 1938 first division.

Ferroviário and the one-time winners (1941-1972)

The Federação Cearense de Desportos took charge in 1941. The Estádio Presidente Vargas opened the same year, and its first match, on 21 September 1941, finished Ferroviário 1, Tramways of Pernambuco 0. Maguari won in 1943 and 1944, bringing their total to four titles. Ferroviário won their first championship in 1945 and won again in 1950, 1952, 1968 and 1970. Calouros do Ar, in 1955, and Gentilândia, in 1956, each won their only title in this period, and América won their second in 1966.

The Castelão and the Clássico-Rei (1973-1995)

The Estádio Governador Plácido Castelo, known as the Castelão, opened on 11 November 1973 with a 0-0 draw between Ceará and Fortaleza. That fixture, the Clássico-Rei, decided the championship for decades afterwards. Ceará won four titles in a row from 1975 to 1978. Fortaleza won back-to-back titles in 1982 and 1983. Ferroviário still won from time to time: they were champions in 1979 and 1988, and their only back-to-back titles, in 1994 and 1995, took them to nine championships.

Two disputed editions: 1992 and 2004

The 1992 edition ended without a single winner. The clubs agreed to share the title between Ceará, Fortaleza, Icasa and Tiradentes. In 2004 Fortaleza won the first stage and Ceará the second, but a court injunction stopped the final. The Superior Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva, Brazil's sports court, later declared Fortaleza champions.

Only two winners since 1996

Since 1996 only Ceará and Fortaleza have won the title. Ceará won four in a row from 1996 to 1999. Fortaleza followed with three in a row from 2003 to 2005 and four in a row from 2007 to 2010. Ceará won another four straight from 2011 to 2014. Other clubs sometimes reached the final: Icasa were runners-up in 2005, 2007 and 2008, Guarani de Juazeiro in 2011, Guarany de Sobral in 2013, Uniclinic in 2016 and Caucaia in 2022.

Five in a row and level on 47 titles

Fortaleza won every edition from 2019 to 2023. It was only the second run of five straight titles in the competition, after Ceará's from 1915 to 1919. Ceará ended the run by beating Fortaleza in the 2024 and 2025 finals. The 2026 final was another Clássico-Rei, played at the Castelão. Both legs, on 1 and 8 March, ended 1-1, and Fortaleza won on penalties. It was their 47th title and the tenth they won unbeaten, and in 2026 it drew them level with Ceará on 47 championships.