The 2021 Campeonato Pernambucano da Série A1 was the 107th edition of the state championship of Pernambuco organized by FPF. The championship began on 24 February and ended on 23 May. Salgueiro were the defending champions but they were eliminated in the semi-finals.
Ten teams were competing, eight returning from the 2020 and two promoted from the 2020 Pernambucano A2 Championship: Vera Cruz and Sete de Setembro.[2]
aIn the Relegation stage, Retrô played their home match against Sete de Setembro at Arruda.
bIn the First stage, Sete de Setembro played their home matches at Lacerdão,[4] except the match against Vera Cruz that was played at Cornélio de Barros. Only the match against Vitória das Tabocas (Relegation stage) was played at Gigante do Agreste.
cVera Cruz and Vitória das Tabocas played their home matches at Arena Pernambuco instead of their regular stadium Severino Cândido Carneiro, Vitória de Santo Antão.[5] The matches Vitória das Tabocas v Vera Cruz and Vitória das Tabocas v Retrô (Relegation stage) were played at Arruda and Lacerdão, respectively.
The semi-finals and the first leg of the Final were played at Arena Pernambuco.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows.[6]
First Stage
Round 1:
24 and 27–28 February
Round 2:
3 and 7–8 March
Round 3:
13–14 and 21 March and 18 April
Round 4:
27–28 March and 14 and 28 April
Round 5:
31 March and 4 and 7 April
Round 6:
14, 18, 21 and 28 April
Round 7:
11, 18 and 21 April
Round 8:
24–26 April
Round 9:
2 May
Relegation Stage
Round 1:
5 May
Round 2:
9–10 May
Round 3:
17 May
Final Stages
Quarter-finals
5 May
Semi-finals
9–10 May
First leg
Second leg
Finals
16 May
23 May
First stage
In the first stage, each team played the other nine teams in a single round-robin tournament. The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, the following criteria would be used to determine the ranking: 1. Wins; 2. Goal difference; 3. Goals scored; 4. Fewest red cards; 5. Fewest yellow cards; 6. Draw in the headquarters of the FPF.[7]
Top two teams advanced to the semi-finals of the final stages, while teams from third to sixth places advanced to the quarter-finals. The four teams with the lowest number of points played a relegation stage.[8]
The best team not qualified for the finals qualified for 2022 Copa do Brasil. Top two teams not already qualified for 2022 Série A, Série B or Série C qualified for 2022 Série D.
Source: FPF Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Relegation stage
In the relegation stage each team played the other three teams in a single round-robin tournament. The two teams with the lowest number of points were relegated to the 2022 Campeonato Pernambucano A2. The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, the following criteria would be used to determine the ranking: 1. Wins; 2. Goal difference; 3. Goals scored; 4. Fewest red cards; 5. Fewest yellow cards; 6. Draw in the headquarters of the FPF.[7]