The Copa do Brasil (or Brazil Cup) is a knockout association football competition played by 64 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District.
From 2001 to 2012, the Copa do Brasil has been played in the first semester of the year. Due to the busy schedule in the first semester in Brazil, teams playing in the Copa Libertadores have not been allowed to participate in the Copa do Brasil in the same year. This has allowed lesser teams to have a shot at the title, since the best clubs are usually playing the continental competition.
From 2013, the tournament will run from March to November. Teams that will contest the Copa Libertadores will join the Copa do Brasil in the second semester. Also, Brazil's four teams in the Copa Sudamericana will be the top 4 of the previous year's Brasileir?o already eliminated from the Copa do Brasil.
In the late 1980s, a number of European football leagues, including Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Norway, experimented with penalty shoot-outs immediately after drawn league matches, with the winner gaining one point more than the loser. This was soon abandoned. In the United States, Major League Soccer initially also had a shoot-out immediately following the end of full-time, even during league matches although these shoot-outs differed from standard penalty shoot-outs (see below). Similarly, Japan's J. League used shoot-outs after drawn games to determine a winner when that league began. These have also since been abandoned.
