The Campeonato Mineiro is the top-flight professional
state football league in the Brazilian
state of
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
. It is run by the
Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF).
The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: before and after the construction of the
Mineirão
Mineirão (; , named after its large structure), officially known as Governador Magalhães Pinto Stadium (, ; , named after Magalhães Pinto), is an association football stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Owned by the state of Minas Gerais, it ...
, in September 1966. The Mineirão is the biggest football stadium of Minas Gerais and it is located in Minas Gerais' state capital,
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...
. Before the stadium's inauguration América and Atlético were the most successful teams in the state, but after the construction of the
Mineirão
Mineirão (; , named after its large structure), officially known as Governador Magalhães Pinto Stadium (, ; , named after Magalhães Pinto), is an association football stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Owned by the state of Minas Gerais, it ...
, known as the "Era Mineirão" ("Mineirão Era"), another team from the capital,
Cruzeiro, also gained prominence. Atlético is the most successful team in the competition, having won 50 championships as of 2025, trailed by Cruzeiro with 38 championships.
As with many other Brazilian football state leagues, the Campeonato Mineiro is much older than the
Brazilian League itself. This is partly because in the early 20th century Brazil did not have a well established transportation and communication infrastructure, that could help it organize a national league in the country, which was made worse by the nation's enormous size.
Many of the best players in Brazilian football were first seen in the Campeonato Mineiro.
Reinaldo,
Cerezo,
Éder,
Ronaldo,
Dario and
Tostão had their professional football debut in the competition.
Current clubs
;2025 Módulo I
*
América (
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...
)
*
Athletic (
São João del-Rei)
*
Atlético (
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...
)
*
Aymorés (
Ubá)
*
Betim (
Betim)
*
Cruzeiro (
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...
)
*
Democrata (
Governador Valadares)
*
Itabirito (
Itabirito)
*
Pouso Alegre (
Pouso Alegre)
*
Tombense (
Tombos)
*
Uberlândia (
Uberlândia)
*
Villa Nova (
Nova Lima)
List of champions
Amateur era (Campeonato da Cidade de Belo Horizonte)
Professional era (Campeonato da Cidade de Belo Horizonte)
Professional era (Campeonato Mineiro)
a: In 2002, the three main clubs in Minas Gerais (América, Atlético and Cruzeiro) plus Mamoré did not take part in the Campeonato Mineiro, because they were competing in the
Copa Sul-Minas. Because of this, the Minas Gerais football body created a short tournament called the ‘Supercampeonato Mineiro’ bringing these four teams together with Caldense, winners of the 2002 Mineiro championship.
Titles by team
Teams in bold still active.
RSSSF
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Note: Although Cruzeiro considers itself champions of the Campeonato Mineiro in 1926, officially the Atlético Mineiro is the only official champion of this competition. Making officially Cruzeiro have 38 Campeonatos Mineiros.
By city
Participation
Most appearances
Below is the list of clubs that have more appearances in the Campeonato Mineiro.
*Do not includes 1926 AMET championship.
*Includes 2002 Supercampeonato Mineiro.
*Tupi includes the participation of "Corporativa Manchester" (1995), when club merged with Sport Juiz de Fora and Tupynambás.
See also
* Campeonato Mineiro Modulo II
* Campeonato Mineiro Segunda Divisão
External links
FMF Official Website
* Julio Bovi Diogo:
' RSSSF Brasil, July 24, 2012.
{{Brazilian Football Competitions
Football competitions in Minas Gerais
Mineiro