The 2016 Campeonato Pernambucano (officially the 2016 Campeonato Pernambucano Celpe A1 for sponsorship reasons)[2] was the 102nd edition of the state championship of Pernambuco. The championship began on January 10 and ended on May 8. Twelve teams were competing, ten returning from the 2015 and two promoted from the 2015 Pernambucano U-23 Championship (Belo Jardim and Vitória das Tabocas).[3]Santa Cruz, the defending champions, won the finals against Sport 1–0 on aggregate.[4]
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings:
Central, América and Serra Talhada qualified for 2016 Série D and 2017 Série D. Serra Talhada played the 2016 Série D but they declined to participate in the 2017 Série D. Their berth was used by Group A runners-up Atlético Pernambucano.[5]