| Founded | 1991 |
|---|---|
| Region |  Rio de Janeiro |
| Number of teams | 16 (2024) |
| Current champions | Maricá (1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Volta Redonda (5 titles) |
TheCopa Rio (English:Rio Cup) is a regional cup competition for football clubs in the Rio de Janeiro state. It is run by theRio de Janeiro State Football Federation.Volta Redonda has the record for most trophies won.
As of 2025, the competition's rules exclude all nationalSérie A andSérie B clubs, with participation optional for clubs inSérie C. Copa Rio champions are given a choice between qualifying for the following year'sCopa do Brasil orSérie D, with the runner-up qualifying for the competition that the winner didn't choose. The competition's participants include 8 Rio de Janeiro StateSérie A clubs, 8Série A2 clubs, 4Série B1 clubs and 4Série B2 clubs.[1]
The competition was founded in 1991 by theRio de Janeiro State Football Federation to decide one of the Rio de Janeiro'sCopa do Brasil representatives of the following year (the other being theCampeonato Carioca champion). If the state champion had also won Copa Rio, the representative would have been the tournament runner-up. However, in 1995 theBrazilian Football Confederation established the possibility of a club being invited to disputeCopa do Brasil, and, as a consequence of this, Copa Rio ended up not being interesting for the big teams, so it was discontinued. Flamengo won the first competition withLéo Júnior as captain. It started in April 20 and was concluded on 10 August 1991.
In 1996 and 1997, the competition was replaced by a similar competition disputed only by Rio de Janeiro state countryside clubs, commonly known asCopa do Interior (Portuguese forCountryside Cup). In 1998, there was an attempt to recreate Copa Rio, but without the qualification to Copa do Brasil. This attempt was a failure, and after three years, the competition was discontinued again. During that season only Flamengo and Fluminense participated from the Rio'sBig 4, while none of them joined the competition in the following year and only Botafogo in 2000. Thus, the Rio Cup started losing its shine in the decade to follow.
In 2008, the third-placed team (Madureira) was eligible to play inCopa Rio-Espírito Santo.[2] In 2005 and in 2007, the competition was held again, but without the participation of the big clubs of the state, and again without qualification to Copa do Brasil.
The competition was split in two groups with separate finals from 1991 to 1995.
| Year | Capital | Interior |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Flamengo | Americano |
| 1992 | Vasco da Gama | Americano |
| 1993 | Flamengo | Americano |
| 1994 | Fluminense | Volta Redonda |
| 1995 | Botafogo | Volta Redonda |
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991[3] | Flamengo | 1–0 3–0 | Americano |
| 1992[4] | Vasco da Gama | 2–0 2–1 | Fluminense |
| 1993[5] | Vasco da Gama | 2–0 1–0 | Flamengo |
| 1994[6] | Volta Redonda | 1–4 1–0 (5–4p) | Fluminense |
| 1995 | Volta Redonda | 4–0 0–0 | Barra |
| 1998 | Fluminense | 4–0 | São Cristóvão |
| 1999 | Volta Redonda | 2–0 1–0 | Madureira |
| 2000 | Portuguesa | 4–1 | Casimiro de Abreu |
| 2005 | Tigres do Brasil | 1–0 2–0 | Macaé |
| 2007 | Volta Redonda | 3–1 0–2 (4–2p) | Cabofriense |
| 2008 | Nova Iguaçu | 1–0 3–2 | Americano |
| 2009 | Tigres do Brasil | 2–2 2–0 | Madureira |
| 2010[7] | Sendas | 1–0 1–2 (4–3p) | Bangu |
| 2011 | Madureira | 2–1 3–2 | Friburguense |
| 2012[8] | Nova Iguaçu | 0–0 1–0 | Bangu |
| 2013 | Duque de Caxias | 0–1 3–1 | Boavista |
| 2014 | Resende | 0–1 1–0 (3–1p) | Madureira |
| 2015 | Resende | 0–0 5–2 | Portuguesa |
| 2016 | Portuguesa | 3–2 3–4 (4–3p) | Friburguense |
| 2017 | Boavista | 0–1 1-0 (4–2p) | Americano |
| 2018 | Americano | 1–1 1–0 | Itaboraí |
| 2019 | Bonsucesso | 0–0 1–0 | Portuguesa |
| 2020 | Canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.[9] | ||
| 2021[10] | Pérolas Negras | 1–1 1–1 (7–6p) | Maricá |
| 2022 | Volta Redonda | 3–1 1–1 | Portuguesa |
| 2023 | Portuguesa | 2–2 3–0 | Olaria |
| 2024 | Maricá | 1–0 0–0 | Olaria |
| Club | Titles |
|---|---|
| Volta Redonda | 5 |
| Portuguesa | 3 |
| Nova Iguaçu | 2 |
| Resende | |
| Tigres do Brasil | |
| Vasco da Gama | |
| Americano | 1 |
| Boavista | |
| Bonsucesso | |
| Duque de Caxias | |
| Flamengo | |
| Fluminense | |
| Madureira | |
| Maricá | |
| Pérolas Negras | |
| Sendas |
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 1996 | Rubro Social |
| 1997 | Duquecaxiense |
| Club | Titles |
|---|---|
| Duquecaxiense | 1 title |
| Rubro Social | 1 title |
Rio'sBig Four participated in the early competitions. Their last appearance was in 2000 before the Cup went on hiatus. Botafogo is the only club out of the 4 that never won the competition.
| Club | Years | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Botafogo | 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000 | 6 |
| Flamengo | 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998 | 6 |
| Fluminense | 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998 | 6 |
| Vasco da Gama | 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 | 5 |
| Year | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Éberson | Portuguesa-RJ | 10 |
| 2008 | Assumpção | Olaria | 13 |
| 2009 | Daniel | Sendas | 16 |
| 2010 | Pipico Rondinelli Tano | Bangu Goytacaz Bangu | 8 |
| 2011 | Wellinton Pimenta | Serra Macaense | 8 |
| 2012 | Derley | Madureira | 10 |
| 2013 | Tiago Amaral | Volta Redonda | 8 |
| 2014 | Gilcimar | America-RJ | 8 |
| 2015 | Douglas Caé Sabão Tiago Amaral | Resende Gonçalense Volta Redonda | 6 |
| 2016 | Lohan | Friburguense | 11 |
| 2017 | Felipe Augusto | Boavista-RJ | 5 |
| 2018 | Cláudio Maradona | Americano | 7 |
| 2019 | Lelê Sorriso | Itaboraí Profute Sampaio Corrêa | 7 |
| 2021 | Di Maria | Americano | 6 |
| 2022 | Jonathan Chula Rhainer | Americano Serra Macaense | 6 |
| 2023 | Guilherme Barrozo Xandinho | Friburguense Olaria | 7 |
| Season | Manager | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Vanderlei Luxemburgo | Léo Júnior |
| 1992 | Joel Santana | Roberto Dinamite |
| 1993 | Alcir Portella | Geovani |
| 1994 | Wilton Xavier | Denimar[11] |
| 1995 | Wilton Xavier | Denimar[12] |
| 1998 | Duílio Júnior | |
| 1999 | Wilton Xavier | |
| 2000 | Marcelo Neto | |
| 2007 | Valter Ferreira | |
| 2010 | Zé Ricardo | Léo Inácio |
| 2011 | Antônio Carlos Roy | |
| 2012 | Leonardo Condé | |
| 2019 | Luciano Quadros | |
| 2021 | Gilmar Estevam | |
| 2022 | Rogério Corrêa | Luan |
| 2023 | Caio Couto |
