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The 2009 edition of the Campeonato Carioca kicked off on January 24th and is schedule to end on May 3rd, 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 be replaced by Bangu and Tigres, respectively winners and runners-up of the lower level championship in 2008.

Teams

System

The 16 clubs were be 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 be 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.
• Taça Rio: teams from one group play against teams from the other group once. Top two teams in each group qualify to semifinal and final, to be played in one single match at Maracanã Stadium. Botafogo reached this final as well, however they were unable to clinch the title as Flamengo won 1-0 to force a championship aggregate to decide the state title.
• Finals: Taça Guanabara and Taça Rio winners play twice at Maracanã Stadium. If the same club wins both stages, it will be declared champions and the final will not be necessary. Botafogo and Flamengo will play the second leg on May 3. The first leg was a 2-2 draw.