From the editorial team
The Piauí Football Federation (FFP) held a new arbitration with the clubs participating in the Piauíense Série A 2024. The meeting aimed to approve the format presented in the previous meeting, with a small adjustment, which provides for fewer dates and a division of participants in groups. The new format was approved at the meeting and the competition starts on January 13th, a little earlier than the previously defined date. The meeting was attended by eight club representatives.
The change is to adapt to the CBF calendar, which suggests a limit of 14 dates reserved for state championships.
Format
The new competition format for the Piauí Championship foresees the participation of eight clubs, divided into two groups, with four participants each. The groups were divided according to their position on the 2023 Series A leaderboard. The groups were defined as follows:
- Group A: River, Altos, 4 de Julho and Picos
- Group B: Fluminense-PI, Corisabba, Oeirense and Parnahyba.
Each group will play each other in turn and return, totaling six games for each club in the group stage. In the second phase, the groups meet in round-trip games (1st in Group A x 4th in Group B / 2nd in Group A x 3rd in Group B / 3rd in Group A x 2nd in Group B / 4th in Group A x 1st from Group B).
The four best teams qualify, adding the scores from the first and second phases. The semi-finals will be played in two games (round trip). The winners of the semifinals face each other in the finals, also in two games (round trip). In case of a tie on the aggregate score, the teams will go to a penalty shootout.
The champion and runner-up guarantee a place in the Copa do Brasil and Série D of the 2025 Brasileirão, in addition to a direct place in the Copa do Nordeste for the champion.
Relegation
The two clubs that score the lowest number of points in the first and second phases.
Start date
The Piauíense Championship is scheduled to start on January 13, 2024. The expectation is that the competition will end before the start of the national championships.
