The 2016 Copa do Nordeste was the 14th edition of the main football tournament featuring teams from the Brazilian Northeast Region. The competition featured 20 clubs, with Bahia and Pernambuco having three seeds each, and Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe, Alagoas, Paraíba, Maranhão and Piauí with two seeds each. Santa Cruz (Pernambuco) qualified to play in the 2016 Copa Sudamericana, after winning the final against Campinense (Paraíba) 3–2 on aggregate.Santa Cruz also qualified to play in the 2017 Copa Sudamericana but CONMEBOL reduced the Brazilian berths from 8 to 6. Therefore, the champions Santa Cruz (Copa do Nordeste) and Paysandu (Copa Verde) lost their Copa Sudamericana berths. Finally, they qualified for the 2017 Copa do Brasil Round of 16.Ceará were the defending champion, but were eliminated by Santa Cruz in the quarterfinals.
Qualified teams AssociationTeam Entry stage Alagoas2 berths CRB 2015 Campeonato Alagoano champions Coruripe 2015 Campeonato Alagoano runners-up Bahia3 berths Bahia 2015 Campeonato Baiano champions Vitória da Conquista 2015 Campeonato Baiano runners-up Juazeirense 2015 Campeonato Baiano 3rd place Ceará2 berths Fortaleza 2015 Campeonato Cearense champions Ceará 2015 Campeonato Cearense runners-up Maranhão2 berths Imperatriz 2015 Campeonato Maranhense champions Sampaio Corrêa 2015 Campeonato Maranhense runners-up Paraíba2 berths Campinense 2015 Campeonato Paraibano champions Botafogo-PB 2015 Campeonato Paraibano runners-up Pernambuco3 berths Santa Cruz 2015 Campeonato Pernambucano champions Salgueiro 2015 Campeonato Pernambucano runners-up Sport 2015 Campeonato Pernambucano 3rd place Piauí2 berths Ríver 2015 Campeonato Piauiense champions Flamengo-PI 2015 Campeonato Piauiense runners-up Rio Grande do Norte2 berths América de Natal 2015 Campeonato Potiguar champions ABC 2015 Campeonato Potiguar runners-up Sergipe2 berths Confiança 2015 Campeonato Sergipano champions Estanciano 2015 Campeonato Sergipano runners-up
Group stage Key to colours in group tablesAdvance to the Final stage
Group A
Source:CBF
Group B
Source:CBF
Group C
Source:CBF
Group D
Source:CBF
Group E
Source:CBF
Ranking of second placed teams
Knockout phase
Bracket
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
2016 Copa do NordesteChampionsSanta Cruz1st title
Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 RodrigãoCampinense92 HernaneBahia63 GrafiteSanta Cruz5 KenoSanta Cruz5 BillCeará4 JuninhoBahia Neto BaianoCRB PiauíSalgueiro Rafael CostaCeará
References