The Campeonato Catarinense de Futebol Profissional da Série A de 2020, known as the 2020 Campeonato Catarinense, was the 95th season of Santa Catarina's top-flight football league. The season began on 22 January and ended on 13 September 2020.
On 16 March 2020, FCF suspended the Campeonato Catarinense indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.[1] Complying with the guidelines of the Governo do Estado de Santa Catarina, the tournament resumed behind closed doors on 8 July 2020.[2]
After the quarter-final first legs, played on 8 and 9 July 2020, several players and staff of Chapecoense, Criciúma, Figueirense, Joinville, and Marcílio Dias tested positive for COVID-19.[3] Because of this, on 13 July 2020, the Governo de Santa Catarina and FCF suspended the tournament until 27 July 2020.[4] Due to the spread of COVID-19, on 24 July 2020, the Governo de Santa Catarina extended the suspension until 7 August 2020,[5] but a subsequent agreement between FCF and the Governo de Santa Catarina lifted the suspension.[6] Finally, the tournament resumed again on 29 July 2020.[7]
In the finals, Chapecoense defeated Brusque 3–0 on aggregate to win their seventh title.[8]
Avaí were the defending champions but they were eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Format
The tournament was contested between 10 teams, who first played in a single round-robin tournament. The bottom two teams played a relegation play-off to next year's Série B. The final stage and the relegation play-off were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis.[9] Champions and runners-up qualified for the 2021 Copa do Brasil, while three teams qualified for the 2021 Campeonato Brasileiro Série D.[10]
The play-off was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded hosting the second leg. If tied on aggregate the lower-seeded would be relegated.
^The match originally slated for 14 July 2020, and later rescheduled for 27 July 2020, was rescheduled again for 1 August 2020.[12]
^The match originally slated for 19 July 2020, and later rescheduled for 31 July 2020, was rescheduled again for 5 August 2020.[13]
Final stage
Starting from the quarter-finals, the teams played a single-elimination tournament. The matches 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 winner.
^The match originally slated for 12 July 2020, and later rescheduled for 29 July 2020, was rescheduled again for 30 July 2020.[14]
^The match originally slated for 12 July 2020, and later rescheduled for 29 July 2020, was rescheduled again for 30 July 2020.[15]
^The match originally slated for 12 July 2020, and later rescheduled for 28 July 2020, was rescheduled again for 29 July 2020.[16]
^The match originally slated for 11 July 2020, rescheduled for 12 July 2020 and later rescheduled again for 28 July 2020, was rescheduled finally for 30 July 2020.[17]
