Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Amador do Estado

The Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Amador do Estado (São Paulo State Amateur Football Championship or Paulista Amateur Football Championship in English) is an amateur football association competition in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the FPF, it was established in 1942.

History
In the early days of São Paulo football association, all competitions were amateur, so the winner of each tournament was also considered the amateur champion of a specific league for each season. With the irreversible process of professionalism in sports underway since the mid-1930s in Brazil, the Government of the State of São Paulo determined that there would be an entity to manage competitions for professional clubs and another to oversee championships for amateur teams. A federal government law standardized sports entities, stipulating that each federal unit of the country should have a single institution to manage football at the local level. As a result, in the State of São Paulo, the São Paulo Football Federation (FPF) was born, which in turn created specific departments for professional and amateur football. This separation between amateurs and professionals is a distinct characteristic of the Brazilian football association compared to other countries.

Thus, the amateur football department of the FPF was in charge of a series of official competitions specifically for amateur teams, creating, for example, the Amateur State Championship, which brought together the champions of the Campeonato do Interior (the São Paulo State Interior Amateur Championship, for amateur teams from outside Greater São Paulo) and the Torneio dos Campeões Amadores da Capital (the Tournament of Amateur Champions of the Capital of São Paulo, which brought the winners of the main amateur leagues from São Paulo).

During the 1970s, the FPF ceased to organize official competitions for amateur teams originating from the capital of São Paulo. As a result, the winner of the São Paulo State Interior Amateur Championship began to be directly recognized as the amateur champion of the entire state of São Paulo.