2009 Campeonato Carioca
The 2009 edition of the Campeonato Carioca kicked off on January 24 and ended on May 3, 2009. It is the official tournament organized by FFERJ (Federação de Futebol do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, or Rio de Janeiro State Football Federation. Only clubs based in the Rio de Janeiro State are allowed to play. Sixteen teams contested this edition.
América and Cardoso Moreira, relegated last year, were replaced by Bangu and Tigres, respectively winners and runners-up of the lower level championship in 2008.
Teams
System
The 16 clubs were divided into two groups.
Group A: Americano, Cabofriense, Duque de Caxias, Fluminense, Madureira, Resende, Tigres and Vasco;
Group B: Bangu, Boavista, Botafogo, Flamengo, Friburguense, Macaé, Mesquita and Volta Redonda.
The tournament was divided in two stages:
Taça Guanabara: teams from each group played in single round-robin format against the others in their group. Top two teams in each group advanced to semifinal and then, to the final, played in one single match at Maracanã Stadium. Botafogo won the title, defeating surprising Resende in the final.