Campeonato Paulista gains new division, A4 – 01/25/2024 – Sport

In 2024, the Campeonato Paulista gains a new division. Named Paulista A4, it now corresponds to the fourth football division in the state, below the A1, A2 and A3 series and above the Second Division, popularly called “Bezinha”, which becomes the fifth and final division.

The A4 will have 16 teams, including those relegated from A3 in 2023 and those that advanced to the third phase in the last edition of Bezinha. In order to foster new talent, the tournament will be made up mainly of under-23 athletes, with permission for each club to have up to five players over that age.

The new São Paulo division will mix traditional associations from the state, such as XV de Jaú, which turns one hundred years old in 2024, having revealed a series of names that stood out in the sport, and recently created clubs, such as Ska Brasil, chaired by the five-time champion Edmílson.

In the first phase, the teams will face each other in a single round. The best eight will advance to the quarterfinals, and the last two will be relegated.

Quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be played in round-trip games; In case of equality in the aggregate score, the owner of the best campaign will advance. Champion and runner-up will have access to A3 in 2025. The tournament will start next Saturday (27).

The FPF (São Paulo Football Federation) forecast is to transfer around R$5 million to the A4 clubs, including sponsorship quotas and prizes.

One of the clubs emerging as candidates for the competition title is Ska Brasil, based in Santana de Parnaíba. The team was born in 2019 from a partnership between a group of Japanese investors and former player Edmílson — five-time champion with the Brazilian team in 2002, and with spells in Barcelona, ​​Lyon, São Paulo and Palmeiras.

The training center was named in honor of coach Telê Santana (1931-2006), who, according to Edmílson, was fundamental to its development and success, on and off the field.

Before worrying about the athlete’s performance, Telê’s priority was to form a team with men who were responsible in relation to their personal and professional obligations, says the former player. “If I hadn’t listened to Telê, I wouldn’t have achieved even half of what I achieved in my career.”

Edmílson says he tries to pass this idea on to Ska Brasil players. The former athlete, who played as a defender and midfielder, also states that he seeks to revive “roots football”. The process includes the practice of futsal for the little ones who arrive to acquire basic fundamentals, such as ball control and dribbling.

According to Edmílson, the bad phase the Brazilian team is going through is linked to the lack of adequate training for the athletes.

“The boys who are in training don’t have to win a championship. They have to perform [sic] well, in the technical, physical, emotional and cognitive areas”, says the manager, revealed in the early 1990s by XV de Jaú, the team with which Ska Brasil will duel on the A4.

President of XV de Jaú, Careca Paiva states that the dispute in the new division increases the chances of qualifying for the A3, since there are 16 clubs in the dispute, against the 36 that participated in Bezinha in 2023.

“The new division demonstrates that the São Paulo Federation is wanting to rescue the teams that made history in football in the state”, says Paiva.

Over the last few decades, players of national and international standing have passed through the country club, such as defender Leandro Castán, midfielder and all-rounder Wilson Mano and strikers França and Sonny Anderson.

The legendary striker Kazu also played for “Galo da Comarca”, who, in 1988, was the first Japanese player to score a goal in Brazilian football, in a 3-2 victory over Biro-Biro’s Corinthians. At 56 years old, Kazu is still in action today, playing for Oliveirense, in the second division of the Portuguese Championship.

For the A4 dispute, Paiva states that the intention is to use mainly young people revealed in the youth categories. Those who stood out in the Copa São Paulo — the team fell in the second phase, on penalties, against CRB — must be part of the main team.

“If we don’t take advantage of the players who come from the base in the professional world, it doesn’t make sense to have the base”, says the top hat. “I hope we can achieve our objective, which is to climb to A3.”

The last time the club competed in the first state division was in 1996, when it finished in 15th and penultimate position. Palmeiras, with Rivaldo, Djalminha and Cafu in the squad, was the champion that year.

To celebrate the centenary of the XV, a series of actions are planned for the week of November 15th, the date the association was founded. A friendly game between the XV de Jaú masters team and a team led by Edmílson and guests should be the main attraction.