Gauchão 2027 Groups and Start Date Officially Confirmed

Twelve clubs will compete in the Gauchão 2027 starting on January 9 following a technical congress held on Wednesday by the Federação Gaúcha de Futebol, gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br reported.

The meeting gathered representatives of the participating clubs at the entity’s headquarters to establish the regulations, groups, and match order for the upcoming edition.

The tournament format maintains the structure used in the current year, according to Federação Gaúcha de Futebol.

The 12 participants are split into two groups of six. Teams face opponents from the opposing bracket during the first phase rather than clubs in their own group, ensuring local derbies such as the Gre-Nal and Ca-Ju.

Group A contains Grêmio, Caxias, Guarany-Ba, Passo Fundo, Monsoon, and São José. Group B includes Inter, Juventude, Brasil-Pel, Ypiranga, Novo Hamburgo, and São Luiz, according to ge.

Como funcionam os grupos e o formato da competição

The top four teams from each group advance to the single-match quarterfinals. Group A leader faces the fourth-place team, while the second-place club meets the third-place finisher, Portal Somos Colorados reported. The team with the best campaign will hold home-field advantage, and if there is a tie in normal time, qualification will be decided by penalty shootouts, according to Federação Gaúcha de Futebol.

Semifinals and finals will use home-and-away legs, with the club having the best campaign across all phases earning the right to decide the knockout tie at home. The two lowest-ranked teams from each group enter a quadrangular in home-and-away fixtures, sending the bottom two clubs down to the Gauchão Série A2, according to Portal Somos Colorados.

Passo Fundo and Brasil-Pel enter the top tier after winning promotion from the Divisão de Acesso, replacing the relegated Inter-SM and Avenida, gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br reported.

Passo Fundo returns to the state elite after ten years holding the Gauchão Série A2 2026 champion title, while the northern state club has not played in the elite gaúcho football since 2017 and Xavante returns after one season in the Access Division.

Video Assistant Referee Implementation

The Video Assistant Referee system will operate from the opening round of the tournament, Metrópoles reported. Clubs also approved a measure allowing the federation to appoint referees from outside the state starting from the quarterfinals, Portal Somos Colorados reported.

“A comunidade já merecia esse acesso há muito tempo,” said Cláudio Ricci, diretor de futebol e vice-presidente do Conselho Deliberativo for Passo Fundo, Federação Gaúcha de Futebol reported.

“A gente espera se manter na elite do futebol, que é o lugar merecido do nosso clube,” Cláudio said.

“Para o clube é muito importante, não só do ponto de vista do calendário, mas principalmente pela tradição. Um clube como o Brasil e uma cidade como Pelotas não podem ficar de fora de um campeonato como a primeira divisão do Gauchão,” Fernando told Federação Gaúcha de Futebol.

Perguntas frequentes sobre o Gauchão 2027

When does the Gauchão 2027 tournament conclude?

The state championship is scheduled to finish on March 7, 2027, according to Portal Somos Colorados.

What happens to teams eliminated in the quarterfinals?

Clubs knocked out in the quarterfinals will compete in the Taça Farroupilha, a tournament featuring home-and-away matches that awards a spot in the Copa do Brasil to its winner, Portal Somos Colorados reported.