The 2019 Campeonato Carioca de Futebol was the 116th edition of the top division of football in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The competition was organized by FERJ. The top four teams in the final standings of the tournament not otherwise qualified qualified to compete in the 2020 Copa do Brasil. Additionally, the top two teams not competing in any level of the national Campeonato Brasileiro qualified for the 2020 Campeonato Brasileiro Série D. Botafogo were the defending champions. Flamengo won their record 35th Campeonato Carioca after defeating Vasco da Gama in the final.
The competition maintained the format of the 2017 and 2018 editions. The preliminary phase of the tournament was contested as a round-robin among the two worst-placed teams of the 2018 competition, the two best-placed teams in the 2018 relegation group, and the two teams promoted from the 2018 Série B1. The top two teams of the preliminary phase qualified for the main competition while the remaining four competed in the relegation group.
In the main competition, the twelve clubs competed across two rounds in two groups of six. The first round was the Taça Guanabara. Each group contested a single round-robin and the two top-placed teams in each group qualified for the semi-finals of the Taça Guanabara. In the event of a draw, the higher-placed team would have advanced to the final. The Taça Guanabara final was contested as a single match with a penalty shoot-out in case of a draw after 90 minutes. The second round was the Taça Rio. The two groups of six remained the same, and each team faced all six teams of the opposite group once. Like the Taça Guanabara, the top two teams in each group qualified to a semi-final with the same format.
The Final Stage was contested as a four-team semifinal and final. The winning teams of the Taça Guanabara and Taça Rio qualified directly to the Final Stage. The best-placed teams in the overall group stage standings that did not win either round also qualified. The semi-finals were single-legged and the final was two-legged. In the event that the same team won both the Taça Guanabara and the Taça Rio, that team would have gone directly to the final. The four other best-placed teams in the overall group stage standings would have competed in a four-team single-match semifinal and final to face them.
Goytacaz and Resende qualified from the 2018 Campeonato Carioca relegation playoff. Nova Iguaçu and Macaé were the two lowest placed teams in the 2018 Campeonato Carioca main tournament. America and Americano were promoted from the 2018 Campeonato Carioca Série B1.
On the morning of 8 February, a fire erupted at the Ninho do Urubu youth training ground of Flamengo. The fire resulted in the deaths of ten people, mostly academy players between the ages of 14 and 16 training with the club. Three other people were injured, one of them seriously injured. The initial cause of the fire was suspected to be a malfunctioning air-conditioning unit that caught fire close to 5:00.
Most of the Rio clubs suspended all football activity the day of the tragedy. The governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro declared a three-day period of mourning following the tragedy. The two Taça Guanabara semifinal matches on the following days, including the match between Flamengo and Fluminense, were postponed.
<onlyinclude></onlyinclude>
<onlyinclude></onlyinclude>
<onlyinclude></onlyinclude>
<onlyinclude></onlyinclude>
The Relegation Round was played from 20 January to 24 February 2019 in a double round-robin format. The top two teams qualified for the First Round of the 2020 Campeonato Carioca and the bottom two teams were relegated to the 2019 Campeonato Carioca Série B1.
Flamengo advance to the finals with a draw as the higher seeded team.
<br />
<br>
<br>