The Performance of SAFs in the Brazilian Championship
The Brazilian Institute for Studies and Development of Publicly Held Football Companies (IBESAF) conducted a mapping of the sporting performance of Publicly Held Football Companies (“SAFs”) participating in the A and B Series of the Brazilian Championship, from the constitution of each to the present moment.
The research was conducted by Guilherme Weber, Iago Espírito Santo, and Romero Rêgo and was divided into two stages.
In the first stage, the SAFs participating in the A and B Series of the Brazilian Championship were identified by verifying the expression "Sociedade Anônima do Futebol" or the acronym "S.A.F." in the names of the teams that were part of these divisions, as provided for in article 1, §3, of the SAF Law – a methodology similar to the standard adopted in previous IBESAF surveys. Based on this criterion, 14 SAFs were identified in the analyzed sample, 6 from Series A and 8 from Series B.
In the second stage, classification data for each SAF (Sociedade Anônima do Futebol - Football Association) over the years was collected, predominantly from the official CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) website. In cases where the SAF was formed during the championship, the round-by-round classification available on the Transfermarkt platform was used as a reference to obtain the position corresponding to the time of formation. In cases where the SAF was formed before the start of the championship, the final classification of the previous season was adopted as a basis.
From the information collected, the following stand out:
Titles. A total of 3 titles were identified: 1 Série A title, won by Botafogo in 2024, and 2 Série B titles, won by Cruzeiro in 2022 and Coritiba in 2025.
Top 4 – Série A. In addition to the Série A title mentioned above, 3 cases of SAFs (Sociedade Anônima do Futebol - Football Associations) that finished Série A among the top four positions in the standings were identified: Atlético-MG in 2023, Fortaleza in 2024, and Cruzeiro in 2025.
Promotions. 7 promotions between divisions were identified: (a) 4 promotions from Série B to Série A (Cruzeiro in 2022, Vasco in 2022, Atlético Goianiense in 2023, and Coritiba in 2025); (b) 3 promotions from Série C to Série B (Athletic in 2024, Londrina in 2025 and São Bernardo in 2025).
Relegations. Five relegations were also counted, all from Série A to Série B: América-MG in 2023; Coritiba in 2023; Atlético-GO in 2024; Cuiabá in 2024; and Fortaleza in 2025.
The IBESAF research presents, below, a consolidated table containing the complete results for each SAF obtained in the mapping carried out:
Furthermore, the IBESAF research presents the graphs below, which illustrate the sporting performance (or variation) of the SAFs of Series A and B, respectively, in the Brazilian Championship:
