# 2021 Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Feminino Série A1

The 2021 Campeonato Brasileiro Feminino A-1 (officially the Brasileirão Feminino Neoenergia 2021 for sponsorship reasons) was the 9th season of the Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Feminino Série A1, the top level of women's football in Brazil, and the 5th edition in a Série A1 since its establishment in 2016. The tournament was organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). It started on 17 April and ended on 26 September 2021.
In the finals, the defending champions Corinthians won their third title after defeating Palmeiras 4–1 on aggregate.

## Format

In the group stage, each team played once against the other fifteen teams. Top eight teams qualified for the final stages. Quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis.

## Teams

Sixteen teams competed in the league – the top twelve teams from the previous season, as well as four teams promoted from the 2020 Série A2.
| Pos. | Relegated from 2020 Série A1 |
| 13 | Iranduba |
| 14 | Audax |
| 15 | Ponte Preta |
| 16 | Vitória |
| Pos. | Promoted from 2020 Série A2 |
| 1 | Napoli |
| 2 | Botafogo |
| 3 | Bahia |
| 4 | Real Brasília |

### Number of teams by state

| Number of teams | State | Team(s) |
| 6 | São Paulo | Corinthians, Ferroviária, Palmeiras, Santos, São José and São Paulo |
| 2 | Distrito Federal | Minas/ICESP and Real Brasília |
| 2 | Rio de Janeiro | Botafogo and Flamengo/Marinha |
| 2 | Rio Grande do Sul | Grêmio and Internacional |
| 2 | Santa Catarina | Kindermann/Avaí and Napoli |
| 1 | Bahia | Bahia |
| 1 | Minas Gerais | Cruzeiro |

## Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Bahia | Salvador | Estádio de Pituaçu | 32,157 |
| Botafogo | Rio de Janeiro | Olímpico Nilton Santos | 46,931 |
| Corinthians | São Paulo | Parque São Jorge | 18,500 |
| Corinthians | São Paulo | Neo Química Arena | 47,605 |
| Cruzeiro | Belo Horizonte | SESC Alterosas | 2,000 |
| Ferroviária | Araraquara | Fonte Luminosa | 21,441 |
| Flamengo/Marinha | Rio de Janeiro | Estádio da Gávea | 4,000 |
| Flamengo/Marinha | Rio de Janeiro | Luso Brasileiro | 4,697 |
| Grêmio | Porto Alegre | CT Presidente Hélio Dourado (Eldorado do Sul) | 1,500 |
| Grêmio | Porto Alegre | Antônio Vieira Ramos (Gravataí) | 4,700 |
| Internacional | Porto Alegre | SESC Protásio Alves | 2,800 |
| Internacional | Porto Alegre | Beira-Rio | 50,128 |
| Kindermann/Avaí | Caçador | Carlos Alberto da Costa Neves | 6,500 |
| Kindermann/Avaí | Florianópolis | Estádio da Ressacada | 17,826 |
| Minas/ICESP | Brasília | Maria de Lourdes Abadia (Ceilândia) | 3,000 |
| Minas/ICESP | Brasília | Ciro Machado do Espírito Santo | 1,500 |
| Napoli | Caçador | Carlos Alberto da Costa Neves | 6,500 |
| Palmeiras | São Paulo | Allianz Parque | 43,713 |
| Palmeiras | São Paulo | Estádio do Canindé | 22,375 |
| Real Brasília | Brasília | Ciro Machado do Espírito Santo | 1,500 |
| Santos | Santos | Urbano Caldeira | 21,732 |
| São José | São José dos Campos | Martins Pereira | 16,500 |
| São Paulo | São Paulo | Marcelo Portugal Gouvêa (Cotia) | 2,000 |
| São Paulo | São Paulo | Arena Barueri (Barueri) | 31,452 |
| São Paulo | São Paulo | Estádio do Morumbi | 77,011 |
    $^a$ Bahia also played home matches at Estádio Joia da Princesa (Feira de Santana).
    $^b$ Botafogo also played home matches at Estádio Luso Brasileiro (Rio de Janeiro).
    $^c$ Corinthians also played home matches at Arena Barueri (Barueri).
    $^d$ Ferroviária also played home matches at Estádio Major José Levy Sobrinho (Limeira), Estádio Zezinho Magalhães (Jaú) and Estádio Alfredo de Castilho (Bauru).
    $^e$ Grêmio also played home matches at Estádio João Corrêa da Silveira (São Leopoldo).
    $^f$ Internacional also played home matches at Estádio João Corrêa da Silveira (São Leopoldo).
    $^g$ Napoli also played home matches at CT Água Amarela (Chapecó).
    $^h$ Real Brasília also played home matches at Estádio Zequinha Roriz (Luziânia).
    $^i$ Santos also played home matches at Estádio Municipal Prefeito José Liberatti (Osasco) and Arena Barueri (Barueri).

## Group stage

In the group stage, each team played on a single round-robin tournament. The top eight teams advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stages. The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, the following criteria would be used to determine the ranking: 1. Wins; 2. Goal difference; 3. Goals scored; 4. Fewest red cards; 5. Fewest yellow cards; 6. Draw in the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation (Regulations Article 13).

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Corinthians | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 44 | 13 | +31 | 38 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 2 | Palmeiras | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 13 | +32 | 37 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 3 | São Paulo | 15 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 14 | +17 | 29 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 4 | Santos | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 27 | 17 | +10 | 27 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 5 | Ferroviária | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 15 | +6 | 27 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 6 | Internacional | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 16 | +3 | 27 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 7 | Grêmio | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 27 | 21 | +6 | 25 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 8 | Kindermann/Avaí | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 21 | Advance to Quarter-finals |
| 9 | Flamengo/Marinha | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 19 | −5 | 18 | |
| 10 | Real Brasília | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 22 | −10 | 18 | |
| 11 | Cruzeiro | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 24 | 25 | −1 | 15 | |
| 12 | São José | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 28 | −12 | 13 | |
| 13 | Botafogo (R) | 15 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 22 | −9 | 11 | Relegation to Campeonato Brasileiro Série A2 |
| 14 | Minas/ICESP (R) | 15 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 26 | −15 | 11 | Relegation to Campeonato Brasileiro Série A2 |
| 15 | Napoli (R) | 15 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 43 | −34 | 7 | Relegation to Campeonato Brasileiro Série A2 |
| 16 | Bahia (R) | 15 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 27 | −19 | 4 | Relegation to Campeonato Brasileiro Série A2 |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BAH | BOT | COR | CRU | FER | FLA | GRE | INT | KIN | MIN | NAP | PAL | RBR | SAN | SJO | SPO |
| Bahia | | | | | 0–1 | 0–1 | | 0–2 | 0–2 | | | | | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Botafogo | 0–0 | | | | | | | 0–2 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–4 | | 2–3 | 1–1 | |
| Corinthians | 2–0 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | | | 3–2 | | | 5–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 5–2 | | | |
| Cruzeiro | 4–0 | 1–1 | | | | 1–2 | | | | | 3–0 | | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 2–2 |
| Ferroviária | | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | | 1–0 | | | | 3–1 | | | 0–0 |
| Flamengo/Marinha | | 1–1 | 0–3 | | | | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | | | 2–0 | 2–2 | |
| Grêmio | 4–2 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | | 1–1 | | | | 2–0 | 5–1 | | | 1–2 | 2–1 | |
| Internacional | | | 0–4 | 1–0 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 2–3 | | 1–1 | | |
| Kindermann/Avaí | | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | | | 2–3 | | | | 0–1 | 0–3 | | 2–1 | | 1–1 |
| Minas/ICESP | 1–0 | | | 1–3 | 1–0 | | | | 2–3 | | | 2–3 | | 2–2 | 0–1 | |
| Napoli | 2–2 | | | | 1–3 | 0–0 | | 1–2 | | 0–0 | | | 1–1 | | 0–2 | |
| Palmeiras | 1–0 | | | 4–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | | | | 8–0 | | 4–0 | | | 1–1 |
| Real Brasília | 1–1 | 1–0 | | | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | | | | | |
| Santos | | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | | | | | | 5–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| São José | | | 2–8 | | 0–0 | | | 1–2 | 0–1 | | | 1–4 | 0–1 | | | 2–3 |
| São Paulo | | 1–0 | 1–2 | | | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | | 3–0 | 7–1 | | 2–0 | | | |

## Final stages

Starting from the quarter-finals, the teams played a single-elimination tournament with the following rules:
* Quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg.
** If tied on aggregate, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winners (Regulations Article 14).
* Extra time would not be played and away goals rule would not be used in final stages.
Starting from the semi-finals, the teams were seeded according to their performance in the tournament. The teams were ranked according to overall points. If tied on overall points, the following criteria would be used to determine the ranking: 1. Overall wins; 2. Overall goal difference; 3. Draw in the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation (Regulations Article 18).

### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| Internacional | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| São Paulo | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| São Paulo | 2 | 1 | 3 | Internacional | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | |
| | | | | Palmeiras | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | |
| Grêmio | 2 | 1 | 3 | Palmeiras | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | |
| Palmeiras | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| Palmeiras | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | Palmeiras | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | Corinthians | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Ferroviária | 3 | 2 | 5 | | | | | | | | | Corinthians | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Santos | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Santos | 2 | 2 | 4 | Ferroviária | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | |
| | | | | Corinthians | 3 | 3 | 6 | | | | |
| Kindermann/Avaí | 1 | 0 | 1 | Corinthians | 3 | 3 | 6 | | | | |
| Corinthians | 4 | 6 | 10 | | | | | | | | |

### Quarter-finals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Kindermann/Avaí | 1–10 | Corinthians | 1–4 | 0–6 |
| Grêmio | 3–5 | Palmeiras | 2–1 | 1–4 |
| Internacional | 4–3 | São Paulo | 1–2 | 3–1 |
| Ferroviária | 5–4 | Santos | 3–2 | 2–2 |

#### Group B

Corinthians won 10–1 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals.

#### Group C

Palmeiras won 5–3 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals.

#### Group D

Internacional won 4–3 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals.

#### Group E

Ferroviária won 5–4 on aggregate and advanced to the semi-finals.

### Semi-finals

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Host |
| 1 | Corinthians | 17 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 54 | 14 | +40 | 44 | Second leg |
| 3 | Ferroviária | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 26 | 19 | +7 | 31 | First leg |
| 2 | Palmeiras | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 50 | 16 | +34 | 40 | Second leg |
| 4 | Internacional | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 30 | First leg |
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Ferroviária | 2–6 | Corinthians | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Internacional | 1–5 | Palmeiras | 0–1 | 1–4 |

#### Group F

Corinthians won 6–2 on aggregate and advanced to the finals.

#### Group G

Paimeiras won 5–1 on aggregate and advanced to the finals.

### Finals

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Host |
| 1 | Corinthians | 19 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 60 | 16 | +44 | 50 | 2nd leg |
| 2 | Palmeiras | 19 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 55 | 17 | +38 | 46 | 1st leg |
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Palmeiras | 1–4 | Corinthians | 0–1 | 1–3 |

#### Group H
## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Bia Zaneratto | Palmeiras | 13 |
| 2 | Duda | São Paulo | 10 |
| 2 | Victória | Corinthians | 10 |
| 4 | Gabi Nunes | Corinthians | 9 |
| 5 | Jheniffer | Corinthians | 8 |
| 6 | Fabiana | Internacional | 7 |
| 6 | Laís Estevam | Grêmio | 7 |
| 6 | Laryh | Kindermann/Avaí | 7 |
| 6 | Mariana Santos | Cruzeiro | 7 |
| 6 | Rafa Mineira | Ferroviária | 7 |
Source:CBF

## Awards
### Individual awards

The following players were rewarded for their performances during the competition.
* Best player: Bia Zaneratto (Palmeiras)
* Breakthrough player: Rafa Levis (Grêmio)
* Topscorer: Bia Zaneratto (Palmeiras)
* Best goal of the tournament: Jayanne (Flamengo/Marinha, playing against Minas/ICESP (Group stage first round))
* Best player (Internet-based poll): Rayanne (Flamengo/Marinha)

### Best XI

The best XI team was a squad consisting of the eleven most impressive players at the tournament.