The 2016 Campeonato da Primeira Divisão de Futebol Profissional da FGF (2016 FGF First Division Professional Football Championship), better known as the 2015 Campeonato Gaúcho or Gaúcho, was the 96th edition of the top flight

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

league of the Brazilian state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

. The season began in January and ends in May.

Format

The tournament was played in four phases: * 1st phase (qualifying): all 14 teams were in a single group (Group A) and in a single shift. The top 8 placed qualified for the 2nd phase and the bottom three were relegated to[2017 Gaucho Football Championship - Access Division. * 2nd phase (quarter-finals): contested by the 8 best teams in the 1st phase, in a single game. If the tie persisted at the end of regular time, a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

would be made to define the semifinalist. * 3rd phase (semifinal): contested by the 4 winning teams of the 2nd phase, in round robin matches. If there was a tie at the end of both games, the away home rule would be taken into account. If the tie continued, a

would be made to determine the finalist. * 4th phase (final): contested by the 2 teams that won the semifinals, in round robin matches. If a tie persisted at the end of the two games, the away goal rule would be taken into account. If the tie persists, a 30-minute

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

would be applied, divided into 2 periods. If the tie continued, a

would be made to define the champion. The top three will compete in the Brazil Football Cup 2017.

Format

Participating teams

First phase

League table

References