the solution bears much resemblance to the hierarchy seen in football leagues around the globe - there is an upper division (grupo especial) and two lower divisions (grupo de acesso and grupo rio), with the potential to move from one group to the other as determined by each group's achievement from year to year.

created in 1952, the grupo de acesso, now called grupo a or série a, is also sometimes referred to by the name of its organizing body, the samba school association of the city of rio de janeiro (associação das escolas de samba da cidade do rio de janeiro - aescrj).

the association is similar on paper to its counterpart in grupo especial, the - liesa, though in practice it less publically visible.