The Projeto Tóquio is a Portuguese language

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 term traditionally used by Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian media and clubs' staff and supporters in the context of winning or attempting on winning the Copa Libertadores football (soccer)

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 competition and then compete in the FIFA Club World Cup

FIFA Club World Cup

The FIFA Club World Cup is a football competition between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations.The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in January 2000...

 (or, previously in the Intercontinental Cup

Intercontinental Cup (football)

The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...

) in Japan. Thus, when a club gets eliminated from the competition, it is said by the media that the team has postponed its Tokyo Project. The term Projeto Tóquio was first used in 1986, during São Paulo

São Paulo Futebol Clube

São Paulo Futebol Clube , commonly known as São Paulo, is a professional football club based in São Paulo, Brazil. They play in the Campeonato Paulista, São Paulo's state league, and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A or Brasileirão, Brazil's national league, and are one of the only five clubs to...

's 1986 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 1986

-Overview:It was performed by 48 teams, including the four champions of the Série B and São Paulo won the championship.-Final standings:-Série A and Série B overall standings:-References:*...

 campaign, as a way to make the club more popular.

The project normally starts after the club win the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...

 or the Copa do Brasil

Copa do Brasil

The Copa Kia do Brasil, commonly known as Copa do Brasil , is a knockout competition played by 64 association football teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District...

 (which qualify their winner to compete in the following year's Copa Libertadores), and the clubs usually spend large sums of money to win the Copa Libertadores. In 1998, Vasco da Gama

Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama

Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama |Rowing Club]]), usually known as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, is a famous and traditional Brazilian multisports club from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, founded on August 21, 1898...

 spent US$ 10 million to win the competition, and in 1998, Palmeiras

Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras

Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras is a Brazilian football club from São Paulo. The club was founded on August 26, 1914, as Palestra Italia but changed to the current name on September 14, 1942...

, managed by Luiz Felipe Scolari

Luiz Felipe Scolari

Luiz Felipe Scolari , ComIH , also known as Felipão in Brazil and Phil Scolari in the United Kingdom, is a World Cup-winning Brazilian football manager. He is currently the manager of Palmeiras. He served as the manager of the Portuguese national team from July 12, 2003 to June 30, 2008...

, brought Júnior Baiano

Júnior Baiano

Raimundo Ferreira Ramos Jr. is a retired Brazilian footballer.-Club:...

 among other players, and successfully won the Copa Libertadores 1999

Copa Libertadores 1999

The 1999 edition of the Copa Libertadores was the 40th in the tournament's history. It was held between February 21 and June 16. Palmeiras won the cup for the first time in the tournament's history.-First round:*Teams in green qualified to the Round of 16...

. After winning the Copa Libertadores in 1997, Cruzeiro

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube is a Brazilian football team, from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Internacional. Founded on January 2, 1921, they are only one of three clubs to have participated in...

 signed some players, such as Bebeto

Bebeto

José Roberto Gama de Oliveira, known as 'Bebeto', is a former football forward, a World Champion for Brazil in the 1994 World Cup...

, Gonçalves and Donizete, just to play the match in Japan. Vasco tried to keep the 2000 Série A

Copa João Havelange

Copa João Havelange was the 30th season of the Campeonato Brasileiro, the top-level of professional football in Brazil. Due to legal complications, the championship was organized by Clube dos 13 instead of CBF, and was contested by 116 teams divided in modules, equivalent to their division -...

 and 2000 Copa Mercosur squad for the 2001 season

2001 in Brazilian football

The following article presents a summary of the 2001 football season in Brazil, which was the 100th season of competitive football in the country.-Campeonato Brasileiro Série A:QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal------------...

, as part of their plan to win the 2001 Copa Libertadores and thus compete in the Intercontinental Cup.

The name refers to the city where the Intercontinental Cup was contested from 1980 to 2001, which was played in Tokyo during that period.