Araucaria U20

Two teams share a badge in Araucária. When Araucária Esporte Clube announced itself in August 2018, it took its colours and its city from an older namesake, Araucária Futebol Clube, dating back to around 1925 and known as 'Fantasma da Baixada'. Within a year it was on the pitch in the Campeonato Paranaense Third Division, finishing third on debut, and by 2020 it found itself promoted into the Second Division not by winning anything but because other clubs pulled out or were barred from competing.

Its nickname, 'O Cacique Tindiquera', comes from a Guarani word for chief, and the club plays under a mascot dressed as one. The senior side has stayed in the Second Division since that unplanned call-up, reaching the semifinals in 2026.

The sharper story in 2026 belonged to the youth side. Araucária U20 reached the final of the Campeonato Paranaense Sub-20, and the tie turned on a single goal conceded in the first leg. Patriotas won that opener 2-1, then held out for a 1-1 draw in the return to take the title. The defeat still carried a prize: both clubs earned their place in the 2027 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior, Brazilian football's biggest showcase for developing players, putting Araucária's academy in front of a national audience for the first time.

Patriotas is the name that now matters most to the club's young players — the side that beat them to a first youth title by the smallest possible margin, and the one they will measure themselves against when the next Sub-20 campaign begins.