Due to historical peculiarities and the large geographical size of the country, Brazil has a relatively short history of nationwide football competitions. Only in 1959, with the advancements in civil aviation and air transport and the need to appoint a Brazilian representative to the first edition of the Copa Libertadores in 1960, was a nationwide tournament created, Taça Brasil. In 1967, the Torneio Rio-São Paulo was expanded to include teams from other states, becoming the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, which was also considered a national tournament. The first Campeonato Brasileiro with that name was held in 1971. The three tournaments - Taça Brasil, Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, and Brasileirão - were unified by CBF in the Brazilian championship history in 2010.
The Campeonato Brasileiro is one of the strongest leagues in the world. The Campeonato Brasileiro contains the most club world champions titles, with 10 championships won among 6 clubs. The league is the second in containing the most clubs to have won the Copa Libertadores with 17 titles won among 10 clubs, only behind the Primera División Argentina, with 24 titles. The league is also one of the world's most powerful, ranked as the 6th most valuable with a worth of over US$1.43 billion. It is also one of the world's richest championships, generating an annual turnover of over US$1.17 billion in 2012. The Campeonato Brasileiro is the most-watched football league in the Americas and one of the world's most exposed, broadcast in 155 nations. The Brazilian championship was also ranked in the top 10 as one of the strongest leagues in the world (for the 2001-2012 period) by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). Campeonato Brasileiro Série A placed fourth after Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain) and Serie A (Italy).
Since 1959, a total of 17 clubs have been crowned Brazilian football champions, 12 of which have won the title more than once. Santos and Palmeiras are the most successful clubs of the Campeonato Brasileiro, having won the competition 8 times each, followed by São Paulo and Corinthians with 6 titles each. Santos' Os Santásticos, considered by some the best Brazilian club team of all times, won 5 consecutive titles between 1961 and 1965, a feat that remains unequaled until today. The State of São Paulo is the most successful state, amassing 28 titles among 5 clubs. A total of 156 clubs have played in the Campeonato Brasileiro since the first edition in 1959.
The reigning Brazilian champions are Corinthians, who won their 6th title during the 2015 season.
The top four teams in the Brasileirão qualify for the Copa Libertadores. The top three teams directly enter the group stage. The fourth-placed team enters the Copa Libertadores at the play-off round for non-champions and must win a two-legged knockout tie to enter the group stage. One Copa Libertadores place is reserved for the winner of the Copa do Brasil. If the winner of the Copa do Brasil finishes the Brasileirão season between first and fourth place, the next-best placed finisher in the Brasileirão takes the vacant slot, "replacing" the one given by the domestic cup.
In qualifying for the Copa Sudamericana, the clubs eliminated during the Copa do Brasil's fourth phase are ranked by their record in the Brasileirão, determining the participants for the Copa Sudamericana. If the Brasileirão contains the defending champion(s) of the Copa Libertadores and/or Copa Sudamericana and they finish the Brasileirão in an international qualification zone, that place goes to the next-best placed team in the league.
Brazilian clubs who win the forementioned competitions have the opportunity to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup, the premier club competition in the world, the Recopa Sudamericana, which pits the winners of the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana against each other, as well as the Suruga Bank Championship against the Japanese J. League Cup champion.