São Bernardo Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as São Bernardo, is a professional association football club based in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil. The team competes in Série B, the second tier of Brazilian football, as well as in the Campeonato Paulista Série A1, the top division of the São Paulo state football league.
The club play their home games at the 12,578 capacity Estádio 1º de Maio. Supporters maintain rivalries with a number of fellow ABC Region clubs, including Santo André, São Caetano, Água Santa and crosstown rivals EC São Bernardo. The club's home colours are yellow and black and the team mascot is a Tiger.
São Bernardo participated six times in the Copa do Brasil, their best result being a fourth stage in 2026. The club also participated twice in Brasileiro Série D, achieving promotion to Brasileiro Série C in 2022. It also competed in Série C three times, being promoted to Brasileiro Série B in 2025. São Bernardo won the Campeonato Paulista Série A2 in 2012 and 2021 and the Copa Paulista in 2013 and 2021. The club's highest ever state league finish came in 2025 when they finished fifth in the Paulistão.
Founded in 2004, the club started in Campeonato Paulista Segunda Divisão in 2005, securing promotion to Série A3 by the end of the first year. In 2008, they were runners-up of Série A3 and were promoted to Campeonato Paulista Série A2. Following a fourth place finish in 2010, São Bernardo played in Série A1 for the first time in 2011, but stayed only one season in the top flight of the São Paulo state football league and were relegated back to Série A2. They returned to the state first division one year later and had a five-year stay in the Série A1 before being relegated at the end of the 2017 season.
History Despite being the largest city in the ABC region in terms of population and home to some of the most successful volleyball and handball teams in Brazil, São Bernardo do Campo has never had a great football tradition, unlike the neighboring cities of São Caetano do Sul and Santo André, whose clubs had already emerged with great performances on national scale. As a result, representatives of the city's amateur football competition, the São Bernardo do Campo Football League, political authorities and retired local players started thinking about doing something for São Bernardo's football.
In 2004, a group of politicians headed by the city's former Sports Secretary and then federal deputy Edinho Montemor and state deputy Orlando Morando, along with five more people, founded São Bernardo Futebol Clube. on December 20, 2004, with an investment of BR$ 100,000. The team would also receive, on behalf of the city, a subsidy in the amount of BR$ 400,000, but the project was not approved by the City Council of São Bernardo do Campo. The team is, since its foundation, a club-company, having its CNPJ registered on January 5, 2005 under the name of São Bernardo Futebol Clube Ltda. The club was founded with the ambitious goal of reaching the elite of state football in five years.
It achieved its goal in 2010 when it reached the elite of state football, where it remained until 2017 (except for 2012). In 2020, Magnum Group acquired 100% of the club, transforming it into a SAF (football limited company).
Under the management of the Magnum Group, São Bernardo achieved promotion back to the elite of state football in 2021 and reached Brasileiro Série C in 2022, eventually reaching Brasileiro Série B in 2026.
Kit From 2020 until mid-2026, the club's uniform was manufactured by the club itself and sponsored by the club's own brand, the watchmaker Magnum.. PeriodKit manufacturerMain shirt sponsor2005–06ReplyArmando Veículos2007SEGASP Sport2008Auto Shopping Cristal2009ChampsNone2010TopperNone2011–12KelmeBanco BMG2013KappaSeara2014PulseNone2015–16Crefisa2017KariluNone2018–19ReplyNone2020NoneMagnum2021–26NoneMagnum Bank2026JunpeMagnum Bank
Current squad
Out on loan
Honours
Official tournaments
StateCompetitionsTitlesSeasonsCopa Paulista 22013, 2021Campeonato Paulista Série A2 22012, 2021
Others tournaments
State Taça Independência (1): 2023
Runners-up Campeonato Paulista Série A3 (1): 2008
Stadium Estádio Primeiro de Maio has been the home of the São Bernardo Futebol Clube professional team since its founding. The stadium has a maximum capacity of 17,000 people and has been the site of three São Bernardo FC title wins. It is owned by the club until 2037 via a public concession.
They also used the Estádio Municipal Giglio Portugal Pichinin (Estádio Baetão), which hosted some Copa Paulista matches for the professional team and was the home of the Tigre's youth teams from 2005 to 2019, where they played in the Campeonato Paulista Sub-15, Sub-17 and Sub-20, in addition to hosting the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior for 13 years.
References