An edition of the Rio-São Paulo tournament was slated to happen in 1979 (it never came to fruition), and because of that, six clubs from Rio de Janeiro (Botafogo, Vasco da Gama, Goytacaz, Americano, Fluminense and Flamengo) and ten from São Paulo (Corinthians, Santos, Portuguesa, São Paulo, Francana, São Bento, XV de Piracicaba, XV de Jaú, Inter de Limeira and Comercial-SP) were to enter in the Second phase, joining the 40 teams that had qualified in the First phase.
However, Corinthians, Portuguesa, Santos and São Paulo demanded to enter only in the third phase instead of the second.
Internacional won the championship undefeated, becoming the only team to win the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in this way.
ABC withdrew from its last two matches against Grêmio Maringá and Figueirense
Atlético Mineiro withdrew after the match against Cruzeiro, that ended in a 0-0 draw, and the points of the remaining matches were awarded to Goiás and Internacional.