ESPN has taken the media rights to the first Copa do Brasil U20 tournament, recently established by the the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and SportPromotion, the sports broadcaster will announce Wednesday. The inaugural edition, a 32-team knockout competition, will take place from Oct. 2-Dec. 15. ESPN also has the exclusive rights to the competition in Brazil through '16, and will air 20 live and exclusive matches of the '12 version beginning next month with Avai vs. Corinthians from Florianopolis on Oct. 2 at 8pm ET. ESPN Brazil GM German Hartenstein said, "With this tournament, we take a significant step toward our goal of expanding our audience with more Brazilian content." The Copa do Brasil U20 competition includes nationwide participation and teams from 11 states, including the 20 participants of the Campeonato Brasileiro 2011 and the 12 teams with the best records from the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B 2011. ESPN will air the Copa do Brasil U20 on other ESPN networks and platforms around the world and in the U.S. ESPN in Brazil also plans to establish, in alliance with the CBF and SportPromotion, the Copa do Brasil U17 event in '13. Details will be announced at a later date (ESPN).
