The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkopa suðameɾiˈkana]; Portuguese: Copa Sul-Americana [ˈkɔpɐ ˈsulɐmeɾiˈkɐnɐ]), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002.[1] It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American football. CONCACAF clubs were invited between 2004 and 2008.[2] The CONMEBOL Sudamericana began in 2002, replacing the separate competitions Copa Merconorte and Copa Mercosur (that had replaced Copa CONMEBOL) by a single competition.[1][2] Since its introduction, the competition has been a pure elimination tournament with the number of rounds and teams varying from year to year.
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| Organizing body | CONMEBOL |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| Region | South America |
| Number of teams | 56 (from 10 associations) |
| Qualifier for | Recopa Sudamericana Copa Libertadores UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge |
| Related competitions | Copa Libertadores (1st tier) |
| Current champion(s) |  Racing (1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) |
|
| Television broadcasters | List of broadcasters |
| Website | conmebolsudamericana |
 2024 Copa Sudamericana | |
The CONMEBOL Sudamericana is considered a merger of defunct tournaments such as the Copa CONMEBOL, Copa Mercosur and Copa Merconorte.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The winner of the Copa Sudamericana becomes eligible to play in the Recopa Sudamericana, the South American supercup.[10] They gain entry to the next edition of the Copa Libertadores, South America's premier club competition, and also contest the UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge, a friendly cup against the winners of the UEFA Europa League. Previously they also competed in the J.League Cup / Copa Sudamericana Championship against the winner of the Japanese League Cup.
The reigning champion of the competition is Argentine club Racing, who defeated Brazilian club Cruzeiro in the most recent final.
Argentine clubs have accumulated the most victories with ten while containing the largest number of winning teams, with eight clubs. The cup has been won by 18 clubs. Argentine clubs Boca Juniors and Independiente as well as Brazilian club Athletico Paranaense and Ecuadorian clubs Independiente del Valle and LDU Quito are the most successful clubs in the competition's history, having won the tournament twice, with Boca Juniors being the only one to achieve victories back-to-back, in 2004 and 2005.
History
edit
In 1992, the Copa CONMEBOL was an international football tournament created for South American clubs that did not qualify for the Copa Libertadores and Supercopa Sudamericana.[11] This tournament was discontinued in 1999 and replaced by the Copa Merconorte and Copa Mercosur. These tournaments started in 1998 but were discontinued in 2001.[12][13] A Pan-American club cup competition was intended, under the name of Copa Pan-Americana, but instead, the Copa Sudamericana was introduced in 2002 as a single-elimination tournament with the reigning Copa Mercosur champion, San Lorenzo.[14]
Format
editUntil 2016 the tournament comprised 47 teams in a knockout format, with the Argentine and Brazilian teams getting byes to the second round and the defending champions entering the competition in the round of 16.[15] Starting from the 2017 edition, the tournament implemented the following format changes:[16][17][18][19]
- The tournament was expanded from 47 to 54 teams.
- A total of 44 teams would directly enter the Copa Sudamericana, while a total of 10 teams eliminated from the Copa Libertadores (two best teams eliminated in the third stage of qualifying and eight third-placed teams in the group stage) would be transferred to the Copa Sudamericana, entering the competition in the second stage.[20]
- The schedule of the tournament was extended to year-round so it would start in February and conclude in December.
- As the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana would be held concurrently, no team would be able to qualify for both tournaments in the same year (except those which were transferred from the Copa Libertadores to the Copa Sudamericana).
- The Copa Sudamericana champions would no longer directly qualify for the next edition as they would now directly qualify for the group stage of the Copa Libertadores (although they would still be able to defend their title if they finished third in the group stage).
- Brazil would be allocated six berths, decreased from eight.
- All teams directly entering the Copa Sudamericana would enter the first stage.[20]
The competition's format was further altered ahead of the 2021 edition, in which a group stage was introduced replacing the second stage and the six qualifiers from Argentina and Brazil were given byes to that stage, with the teams from the remaining associations being drawn against a team from their same country in the first stage, ensuring that at least two teams from each association would take part in the group stage. The competition was further expanded to include all four teams eliminated from the Copa Libertadores third stage, which would also enter the group stage, while the eight third-placed teams from the Copa Libertadores group stage would enter the round of 16.[21][22] Two years later, the format for the first stage of the tournament was changed from double-legged ties to single-match ones and a knockout round prior to the round of 16 was introduced, in which the eight teams transferred from the Copa Libertadores group stage would play against the Copa Sudamericana group runners-up with the winners joining the group winners in the following stage of the competition.[23]
Trophy
editThe tournament shares its name with the trophy, also called the Copa Sudamericana or simply la Sudamericana, which is awarded to the Copa Sudamericana winner.[24]
La Otra Mitad de La Gloria
editLa Otra Mitad de La Gloria (The other half of glory) is a promotional Spanish phrase used in the context of winning or attempting to win the Copa Sudamericana.[25] It is a term widely used by Spanish-speaking media. The tournament itself has become highly regarded among its participants since its inception. In 2004, Cienciano's conquest of the trophy ignited a party across Peru.[26] The Mexican football federation regards Pachuca's victory in 2006 as the most important title won by any Mexican club.[27]
Sponsorship
editLike the Copa Libertadores, the Copa Sudamericana was sponsored by a group of multinational corporations. Like the premier South American club football tournament forementioned, the competition used a single, main sponsor. The first major sponsor was Nissan Motors, who signed an 8-year contract with CONMEBOL in 2003. [citation needed]
Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising, even if such sponsors conflict with those of the Copa Sudamericana.[28]
As of 2024, the sponsors of Copa Sudamericana are:
Official Sponsors
- Amstel Brewery[29]
- Coca-Cola[30]
- Entain[31]
- Bwin (Except Brazil)
- Sportingbet (Brazil only)
- EA Sports[32]
- Mercado Libre[33]
- MG Motor[34]
Official Partners
Official Licensee
Match ball
editGerman company Puma supplies the official match ball from 2024, as they do for all other CONMEBOL competitions.[37] This partnership ended CONMEBOL's 20-year tenure with Nike.
Puma Cumbre is the official match ball of the 2024 edition of both Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores.
Prize money
editFor the 2023 Copa Sudamericana, clubs playing their first stage match at home receive US$225,000, while teams that play their first stage match away receive US$250,000. Clubs qualifying for the group stage are awarded US$900,000, earning US$100,000 per match won in that stage.[39] Those amounts are derived from television rights and stadium advertising.[39] In addition to those amounts, CONMEBOL will pay US$500,000 to the clubs reaching the knockout round play-offs, US$550,000 to those advancing to the round of 16, US$600,000 for reaching the quarter-finals, US$800,000 for reaching the semi-finals, US$2,000,000 to the runners-up and US$5,000,000 to the winners.[39]
Media coverage
editStarting from 2019, the CONMEBOL Libertadores and Sudamericana broadcast packages were separated, and DirecTV through its sports channel DSports (Latin America excluding Brazil) and DAZN (Brazil) took over the Copa and Recopa Sudamericana coverage from the previous broadcaster, Fox Sports (Latin America), in a deal until 2022.[40][41] RedeTV! (Brazil) would also broadcast the tournament.[42] On 12 May 2022, CONMEBOL announced the renewal of the agreement with DirecTV for the 2023–2026 cycle, whilst the rights for Brazil were awarded to SBT, ESPN, and Paramount, with OneFootball being awarded rights to broadcast highlights in Brazil as well as the rest of Latin America.[43]
Records and statistics
editList of finals
edit- From 2004 to 2008, clubs from the CONCACAF were invited to participate.
- From 2019, the final was played under a single match.
- Keys
- Finals won on away goals
- Match went to extra time
- Defined on penalty shoot-out in the second leg
- Notes
- ^ Final was suspended following the crash of LaMia Flight 2933. CONMEBOL awarded the title to Chapecoense, following a request by Atlético Nacional.
Claudio Morel Rodríguez is the only player to have won three Copa Sudamericana winners' medals.[44]
As of the end of the 2014 tournament, LDU Quito and São Paulo have played most games in the tournament (50).[45]
Performance by club
edit| Club | Titles | Runners-up | Seasons won | Seasons runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 LDU Quito |
2 | 1 | 2009, 2023 | 2011 |
| Boca Juniors |
2 | — | 2004, 2005 | —
|
| Independiente |
2 | — | 2010, 2017 | —
|
 Athletico Paranaense |
2 | — | 2018, 2021 | —
|
| Independiente del Valle |
2 | — | 2019, 2022 | —
|
| São Paulo |
1 | 1 | 2012 | 2022 |
| Lanús |
1 | 1 | 2013 | 2020 |
| River Plate |
1 | 1 | 2014 | 2003 |
| San Lorenzo |
1 | — | 2002 | —
|
 Cienciano |
1 | — | 2003 | —
|
 Pachuca |
1 | — | 2006 | —
|
| Arsenal |
1 | — | 2007 | —
|
| Internacional |
1 | — | 2008 | —
|
 Universidad de Chile |
1 | — | 2011 | —
|
 Santa Fe |
1 | — | 2015 | —
|
| Chapecoense |
1 | — | 2016 | —
|
| Defensa y Justicia |
1 | — | 2020 | —
|
| Racing |
1 | — | 2024 | —
|
| Atlético Nacional |
0 | 3 | — |
2002, 2014, 2016 |
 Bolívar |
0 | 1 | — |
2004 |
| UNAM |
0 | 1 | — |
2005 |
| Colo-Colo |
0 | 1 | — |
2006 |
| América |
0 | 1 | — |
2007 |
| Estudiantes |
0 | 1 | — |
2008 |
| Fluminense |
0 | 1 | — |
2009 |
| Goiás |
0 | 1 | — |
2010 |
| Tigre |
0 | 1 | — |
2012 |
| Ponte Preta |
0 | 1 | — |
2013 |
| Huracán |
0 | 1 | — |
2015 |
| Flamengo |
0 | 1 | — |
2017 |
| Junior |
0 | 1 | — |
2018 |
| Colón |
0 | 1 | — |
2019 |
| Red Bull Bragantino |
0 | 1 | — |
2021 |
| Fortaleza |
0 | 1 | — |
2023 |
| Cruzeiro |
0 | 1 | — |
2024 |
Performances by nation
edit| Nation | Titles | Runners-up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina |
10 | 6 | 16 |
| Brazil |
5 | 8 | 13 |
| Ecuador |
4 | 1 | 5 |
| Colombia |
1 | 4 | 5 |
| Mexico |
1 | 2 | 3 |
| Chile |
1 | 1 | 2 |
 Peru |
1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bolivia |
0 | 1 | 1 |
 Costa Rica |
0 | 0 | 0 |
 Honduras |
0 | 0 | 0 |
 Paraguay |
0 | 0 | 0 |
 United States |
0 | 0 | 0 |
 Uruguay |
0 | 0 | 0 |
 Venezuela |
0 | 0 | 0 |
Source:[46]
References
edit- ^ a b "SOUTH AMERICAN COMPETITIONS". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
- ^ a b "Nissan South American Cup". conmebol.com. Retrieved 28 March 2010. [dead link]
- ^ Copa Conmebol at the official page of Conmebol.com Archived 2013-07-18 at the Wayback Machine CONMEBOL Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- ^ CONMEBOL Cup / UEFA Cup Archived 2015-10-31 at the Wayback Machine RSSSF Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- ^ Información sobre la Copa Conmebol Archived 2009-01-24 at the Wayback Machine infofutbolonline.com Retrieved May 18, 2010
- ^ THE BEST CLUB OF SOUTH AMERICA RSSSF Archived 2010-02-01 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved January 9, 2014
- ^ Globo Esporte Archived 2009-05-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 10, 2007
- ^ Terra Brazil Archived 2013-09-30 at the Wayback Machine- Retrieved December 5, 2012
- ^ Santander Fútbol Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine- Retrieved July 16, 2012
- ^ "Recopa Sudamerica". CONMEBOL. Retrieved 28 March 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "Copa CONMEBOL". conmebol. Retrieved 28 March 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Copa Merconorte". conmebol. Retrieved 28 March 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Copa Mercosur". conmebol. Retrieved 28 March 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Copa Pan-Americana 2003". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
- ^ Karel Stokkermans (10 December 2015). "Copa Sudamericana 2015". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ "Conmebol informa detalles adicionales sobre reforma de Copa Libertadores y Copa Sudamericana". CONMEBOL.com. 3 October 2016.
- ^ "Conmebol ratifica calendario anual para Copa Libertadores y Copa Sudamericana". CONMEBOL.com. 3 October 2016.
- ^ "Comunicado de CONMEBOL sobre torneos de clubes". CONMEBOL.com. 27 September 2016.
- ^ ""Invitación por criterio técnico": Boca y River podrían jugar la Copa Libertadores 2017". La Nacion. 27 September 2016. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ a b "La Copa Sudamericana 2017 reunirá a 44 clubes". CONMEBOL.com. 6 December 2016.
- ^ "Se viene una CONMEBOL Sudamericana más competitiva y representativa". CONMEBOL.com. 2 October 2020.
- ^ "CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2021" (PDF). CONMEBOL.com. 2 October 2020.
- ^ "Con cambios en el formato, la CONMEBOL Sudamericana gana aún más competitividad y atractivo" [With changes in the format, the CONMEBOL Sudamericana gains even more competitiveness and attractiveness] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ Agosto abre el noveno capítulo de un torneo que se hace mayor[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Fiesta por la otra mitad de la gloria" (in Spanish). HOY. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
- ^ "Toda Peru festeja título de Cienciano" (in Spanish). Fútbol Peru. Archived from the original on May 17, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
- ^ "Historia del Club Pachuca" (in Spanish). Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
- ^ "Reglamento de la Copa Nissan Sudamericana de Clubes 2010" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. April 28, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2010. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- ^ "Amstel da la bienvenida al nuevo acuerdo con la CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina y amplía su acuerdo con la CONMEBOL para promover la inclusión en el fútbol de toda Sudamérica hasta 2026 - CONMEBOL". www.conmebol.com (in European Spanish). 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ "Coca-Cola y Powerade, nuevos Patrocinadores Oficiales de los Torneos de Clubes de la CONMEBOL - CONMEBOL". www.conmebol.com (in European Spanish). 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ "Entain, a través de sus marcas Sportingbet y bwin, se convierte en el nuevo patrocinador oficial de las competencias CONMEBOL Libertadores y CONMEBOL Sudamericana - CONMEBOL". www.conmebol.com (in European Spanish). 2023-02-20. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ "EA SPORTS y CONMEBOL refuerzan su compromiso con el deporte al anunciar la renovación multianual de su alianza - CONMEBOL". www.conmebol.com (in European Spanish). 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
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- ^ "MG Motor renueva acuerdo con la CONMEBOL Sudamericana hasta el 2026 - CONMEBOL". www.conmebol.com (in European Spanish). 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ "Absolut Sport es el Official Fan Travel Package Partner de las Finales de la CONMEBOL Libertadores y CONMEBOL Sudamericana - CONMEBOL". www.conmebol.com (in European Spanish). 2022-09-26. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ "DHL é o novo Patrocinador Oficial da CONMEBOL Sudamericana e Sócio Logístico Oficial da CONMEBOL Libertadores - CONMEBOL". www.conmebol.com (in European Spanish). 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ a b "PUMA PARTNERS WITH CONMEBOL TO SPONSOR MAJOR FOOTBALL TOURNAMENTS AND PRODUCT IN LATIN AMERICA | PUMA®". about.puma.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ "Saiu o novo álbum da Panini exclusivo da CONMEBOL Libertadores! - CONMEBOL". www.conmebol.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2023-06-23. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ a b c "Estos son los premios que se repartirán en la Copa Sudamericana 2023" [These are the prizes that will be distributed in the 2023 Copa Sudamericana] (in Spanish). Primicias. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- ^ "DAZN TO LAUNCH SPORTS STREAMING SERVICE IN BRAZIL". DAZN Media Centre. 2018-11-29. Archived from the original on 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
- ^ "DAZN, SporTV and DirecTV secure Copa Libertadores rights". sportspromedia.com. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
- ^ "RedeTV! transmite ao vivo Racing x Corinthians às 21h30 desta quarta-feira (27)". RedeTV! (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2019-02-24.
- ^ "La CONMEBOL da a conocer los ganadores de los Derechos de Transmisión Audiovisual de los Torneos de Clubes ciclo 2023 – 2026" [CONMEBOL announces the winners of the Audiovisual Transmission Rights of Club Tournaments for the 2023–2026 cycle] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "Claudio Morel Rodríguez". Boca Juniors. Archived from the original on 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ^ "Historical table". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ Karel Stokkermans (23 December 2015). "Copa Sudamericana". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
External links
edit
- Official website
- Copa Sudamericana results at RSSSF
- Copa Sudamericana at worldfootball.net
