The determinants of sporting success in Olympic Games and international football have been analysed. Nevertheless, few studies are found on football club-level. The aim of this paper is to identify the determinants of sporting success at professional club-level studying the Brazilian League. The dataset comprises all 30 football clubs that competed in the First Division of the Brazilian League from 2010 to 2014. The econometric approach consists in an ordered logit regression. The dependent variable is the final position of each club. The findings reveal that team payroll, placement in a city with higher standard of living, the number of previous participations and a current title in the State Championships maximize the likelihood of success. How-ever, the number of players used negatively affects the sporting performance. The peculiarities of Brazilian football are used to discuss the findings. Further papers on European football are recommended as some determinants could vary.