Brazilian Football Map

With the launch of the 2008 Brazilian championship (the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A) it's time to take a look at the league geography. Bill Turianski provides the latest in his series of sports maps, with a map of the country to show where each club is located and a snapshot that includes the club's emblem and uniforms and short overview. It's visually appealing and, as always, contains some interesting nuggets on the country itself.

Virtually all the clubs are based along the coastline. Goiás are from the interior state of Goiâna, plus there are three clubs from the state of Minas Gerais just north of Rio de Janeiro. All the remaining clubs are on the coast or very near it. The vast majority of the nation's population lives within 100 miles or less of the coastline and only a handful of large dot the sparsely populated interior. It's also interesting to note the relative lack of northern clubs, with only the pair of Recife clubs and Vitória of Salvador at the top this time around. The most glaring absence of course is mighty Corinthians, toiling in the obscurity of Série B. It's rather amazing that just two years after winning the title they managed to get themselves relegated. But that is what years of inept management will do for you and, on that level at least, it's a healthy and refreshing development for the Brazilian game. 

Bill Turianski runs the website Bill's Sports Maps - which features many, many maps, profiles of teams and a whole lot more.