Copa Verde

The Copa Verde (English: Green Cup) is an annual regional knockout football competition in Brazil that started in 2014, and played by 24 teams from the North and Central-West regions, plus Espírito Santo (Espírito Santo state was included because they competed in the old Copa Centro Oeste).^[1][2]

Copa Verde

Organising body	Brazilian Football Confederation
Founded	2014; 11 years ago (2014)
Region	Brazil's North and Central-West plus Espírito Santo
Number of teams	24
Qualifier for	Copa do Brasil (third round)
Current champions	Paysandu (5th title)
Most successful club(s)	Paysandu (5 titles)
Website	Official website
2025 Copa Verde

Initially, the champion of the tournament gained a place in the next year's Copa Sudamericana. With the changes implemented by CONMEBOL in 2016 causes a competition no longer qualify in Copa Sudamericana from edition.^[3] The champion will now have a spot in the third round of the Copa do Brasil of the following year. The cup is organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), with two-legged playoff games played from between the 24 participating teams.^[2]

History

The tournament was created with the purpose of making a version of the Copa do Nordeste for the Northern Region of Brazil, hence the name Verde, meaning green, is an allusion to the Amazon Rainforest.^[1] The competition was expanded to include clubs from the Central-West Region and from Espírito Santo state (as the state competed in the defunct Copa Centro-Oeste).^[4] The competition was officially announced in September by the competitions director of the Brazilian Football Confederation.^[5]

In the community

Recycling machine which allows fans to exchange plastic bottles or aluminum cans for tickets^[6]

Since its creation in 2014, Copa Verde has been committed to sustainable practices and the preservation of the environment. With the legacy of respect for nature already consolidated and a growing reach throughout its editions, it has earned the certificate of Brazil's first Zero Carbon competition. With the trophies made of certified wood, the Brazilian Football Confederation, through its sustainability policy, has already promoted educational contests, tree planting, the use of certified paper, and the exchange of PET bottles for tickets as some of its actions on behalf of the environment.^[7]

Besides the concern with flora, Copa Verde also looks carefully at the species that make up the Brazilian fauna. Since the 2020 edition, the jaguar and the hyacinth macaw have been printed on the clubs' shirts with special patches. The initiative aims to alert and pay tribute to these two endangered species in the Amazon and Pantanal wetlands, respectively.^[8]

List of champions

Year	Finals			Losing semi-finalists1
	Winners	Score	Runners-up
2014 Details	Brasília	1–2 2–1 Aggregate 3–3 (7–6 p)2	Paysandu	Brasiliense and Remo
2015 Details	Cuiabá	1–4 5–1 Aggregate 6–5	Remo	Luverdense and Paysandu
2016 Details	Paysandu	2–0 1–2 Aggregate 3–2	Gama	Aparecidense and Remo
2017 Details	Luverdense	3–1 1–1 Aggregate 4–2	Paysandu	Rondoniense and Santos
2018 Details	Paysandu	2–0 1–1 Aggregate 3–1	Atlético Itapemirim	Luverdense and Manaus
2019 Details	Cuiabá	0–1 1–0 Aggregate 1–1 (5–4 p)	Paysandu	Goiás and Remo
2020 Details	Brasiliense	2–1 1–2 Aggregate 3–3 (5–4 p)	Remo	Manaus and Vila Nova
2021 Details	Remo	0–0 0–0 Aggregate 0–0 (4–2 p)	Vila Nova	Nova Mutum and Paysandu
2022 Details	Paysandu	0–0 1–1 Aggregate 1–1 (4–3 p)	Vila Nova	Brasiliense and São Raimundo
2023 Details	Goiás	2–0 2–1 Aggregate 4–1	Paysandu	Cuiabá and Remo
2024 Details	Paysandu	6–0 4–0 Aggregate 10–0	Vila Nova	Cuiabá and Remo
2025 Details	Paysandu	0–0 1–1 Aggregate 1–1 (5–4 p)	Goiás	Brasiliense and São Raimundo

Note 1: Losing semi-finalists are listed in alphabetical order.

Note 2: On July 28, 2014, the 2014 Copa Verde title was awarded to Paysandu, due to irregularities on the squad of Brasília.^[9] Brasília appealed against this decision and obtained a suspension which reversed this decision temporarily.^[10] A final decision by the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) declared Brasília as the champion.^[11]

Records and statistics

Finalists

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Years won	Years runner-up
Paysandu	5	4	2016, 2018, 2022, 2024, 2025	2014, 2017, 2019, 2023
Cuiabá	2	0	2015, 2019	—
Remo	1	2	2021	2015, 2020
Goiás	1	1	2023	2025
Brasília	1	0	2014	—
Luverdense	1	0	2017	—
Brasiliense	1	0	2020	—
Vila Nova	0	3	—	2021, 2022, 2024
Gama	0	1	—	2016
Atlético Itapemirim	0	1	—	2018

Performance by State

State	Won	Runner-up
Pará	6	6
Mato Grosso	3	0
Distrito Federal	2	1
Goiás	1	4
Espírito Santo	0	1

Top scorers

Year	Player (team)	Goals
2014	Lima (Paysandu)	7
2015	Raphael Luz (Cuiabá)	8
2016	Rafael Grampola (Gama)	6
2017	Careca (Rondoniense)	5
2018	Cassiano (Paysandu)	9
2019	Douglas Oliveira (Luverdense)	5
2020	Alan Mineiro (Vila Nova) Diego Rosa (Aparecidense)	5
2021	Neto Pessoa (Remo)	9
2022	Marlon (Paysandu) Yan Philippe (São Raimundo-AM)	3
2023	Wanderson (São Francisco-AC)	4
2024	Nicolas (Paysandu)	6
2025	Rossi (Paysandu)	4

Winning managers

Year	Manager	Club
2014	Luís Carlos Carioca	Brasília
2015	Fernando Marchiori	Cuiabá
2016	Dado Cavalcanti	Paysandu
2017	Júnior Rocha	Luverdense
2018	Dado Cavalcanti	Paysandu
2019	Marcelo Chamusca	Cuiabá
2020	Vilson Tadei	Brasiliense
2021	Eduardo Baptista	Remo
2022	Márcio Fernandes	Paysandu
2023	Emerson Ávila	Goiás
2024	Hélio dos Anjos	Paysandu
2025	Luizinho Lopes	Paysandu

Winning captains

Year	Captain	Club
2014	Pedro Ayub	Brasília
2015	Bogé	Cuiabá
2016	Augusto Recife	Paysandu
2017	Paulinho	Luverdense
2018	Diego Ivo	Paysandu
2019	Anderson Conceição	Cuiabá
2020	Zotti	Brasiliense
2021	Vinícius	Remo
2022	Genílson	Paysandu
2023	Lucas Halter	Goiás
2024	Nicolas	Paysandu
2025