The opening match of the 2026 edition of Series A1 (first division) of the Brazilian Women’s Football Championship will be broadcast live on TV Brasil. This Thursday (12), starting at 9pm (Brasília time – 8pm local time), the ball rolls to Mixto and Flamengo, at the Eurico Gaspar Dutra Stadium, Dutrinha, in Cuiabá.
The home team competes in the Brasileirão elite for the third time. The last one was in 2015. The Tigresses, who fell in the quarterfinals of Série A2 (second division) in 2025, inherited one of the places left by Real Brasília and Fortaleza, who closed their respective departments of the sport. Vitória took the other.
Flamengo is the second team with the most presence in the national competition, organized since 2013 by the CBF, behind only Ferroviária. It will be the 12th participation of Meninas da Gávea, the only team outside the state of São Paulo to have already been champion (2016).
For its return to the first division after 11 years, Mixto is betting on an experienced squad. Among the reinforcements are goalkeeper Thaís Helena, 38 years old, former Atlético-MG and runner-up in the world for the Brazilian team in 2007; and Paraguayan midfielder Fany Gauto, 31 years old, with experience at Railway and International. The coach is Adilson Galdino, three-time Libertadores champion with São José and who led the team from the interior of São Paulo to win the Club World Cup in Japan in 2014 – the competition does not have the approval of the International Football Federation (Fifa).
Flamengo, in turn, promoted a change in the strategy aimed at the women’s team for 2025, with a reduction in investment in the sport and greater use of the base. The club kept its main stars, such as midfielder and captain Djeni and center forward Cristiane, but released important players, such as defender Agustina Barroso, who went to Corinthians, and striker Gláucia, a reinforcement from Palmeiras.
The expectation is that at least 10 base players will reinforce the team led by Celso Silva, who took over after Rosana Augusto left, precisely due to the sport’s budget readjustment. Rubro-Negro’s under-20 team came second in the Brasileirão in 2025, but won two in the Women’s Cup and had six athletes called up to defend Brazil in the category’s South American Championship, which is ongoing.
The first round continues on Friday (13), also at 9pm, with the debut of Palmeiras, current champion of the Brazilian Cup (and Super Cup). At Arena Crefisa, in Barueri (SP), the Palestrinas host América-MG, in another duel shown live by TV Brasil.
Brabas will debut next Friday (13) against Atlético-MG in Belo Horizonte. The São Paulo team has strong reinforcements this season. In addition to the return of midfielder Ana Vitória (ex-Atlético de Madrid), the club signed Uruguayan striker Belén Aquino (ex-Internacional) – Staff Images Woman/CBF/Reserved Rights
The regulations are similar to those of previous years. The difference is in the number of participants. There are 18, instead of the 16 of the last nine editions. In the first phase, the teams face each other in a single round. The best eight go to the quarterfinals and the worst two go down to Series A2. In the knockout stage, there are round-trip games. According to the CBF table, the champion will be known on October 4th.
Current six-time champion and owner of seven titles, Corinthians debuts on Friday (13), at 9pm. Brabas face Atlético-MG – who returned to the elite alongside Santos and Botafogo – at Arena MRV, in Belo Horizonte. Favorite, Timão was present in the last nine finals and boasts an 81.7% success rate in games for the Brasileirão.
Among the reinforcements brought in for 2026, highlights include the return of midfielder Ana Vitória, who was at Atlético de Madrid, from Spain, and the arrival of Uruguayan striker Belén Aquino, a former International. They started the year as starters in the FIFA Champions Cup and the Brazilian Super Cup. Corinthians were runners-up in both, respectively, to Arsenal, from England, and Palmeiras.
Last Saturday (7), Palestrinas won the Women’s Super Cup by defeating Brabas on penalties. With an eye on the Brasileirão 2027 title, Alviverde invested in the return of striker Bia Zaneratto to the squad – Rafael Ribeiro/CBF/Reserved Rights
The Palestrinas have been the thorn in their arch-rival’s side. In the four finals between the teams, they came out on top in the last three – Palmeiras also won the 2024 and 2025 editions of the Campeonato Paulista over Corinthians. The exception was precisely the only time that the teams decided the Brasileirão, in 2021. Semi-finalist last year, Verdão brought strong reinforcements to get out of the almost. The return of Bia Zaneratto to replace the departure of fellow striker Amanda Gutierres was the main signing.
Algoz alviverde in 2025, Cruzeiro brought 11 new faces and maintained the backbone of the Brazilian runner-up team, despite the departure of Isa Haas, negotiated with América, from Mexico. Also defender Tainara, ex-Bayern Munich, from Germany, came to replace her. The board reserved R$16 million – 6.67% more than in 2025 – for the season, which will see the Cabulosas debut in the Women’s Libertadores, alongside Corinthians and Palmeiras.
First round games of the Women’s Brasileirão
12/02 – 9pm: Mixto x Flamengo – Dutrinha, in Cuiabá – broadcast TV Brasil
02/13 – 9pm: Palmeiras x América-MG – Arena Crefisa, in Barueri (SP) – broadcast TV Brasil
02/13 – 9pm: Atlético-MG x Corinthians – Arena MRV, in Belo Horizonte
02/14 – 3pm: Fluminense x Vitória – Luso-Brazilian, in Rio de Janeiro
02/14 – 4pm: Botafogo x Juventude – Nilton Santos, in Rio de Janeiro
02/14 – 6pm: Bahia x Cruzeiro – Pituaçu, in Salvador
02/15 – 5pm: Red Bull Bragantino x Ferroviária – Performance & Development Center, in Atibaia (SP)
02/16 – 7pm: Santos x Grêmio – Vila Belmiro, in Santos (SP)
02/16 – 8pm: Internacional x São Paulo – Sesc Protasio Alves, in Porto Alegre
