The Copa Sudamericana is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American football and is held every season with many of the continent's most iconic clubs taking part.
First contested in 2002 to replace the Copa Merconorte and Copa Mercosur, the Copa Sudamericana has gone from strength to strength and 2026 will mark the 25th edition of the prestigious tournament that has the same standing in South America as the Europa League does in Europe.
Copa Sudamericana format
The Copa Sudamericana begins with a first round comprising of 32 teams from across all the South American associations, excluding Argentina and Brazil, and they contest 16 one-off ties with the winners of each advancing through to the group stage.
A total of 12 teams, six from both Argentina and Brazil, then join the 16 winners from the first round in the group stage, as well as the four clubs that were eliminated from the third stage of that season's Copa Libertadores.
The teams are then drawn into eight groups of four and play home and away against the other teams in their group, with the winner of each section advancing through to the round of 16, while the runners up from each go into the knockout round play-offs where they will face a two-legged tie against a side that drops into the Copa Sudamericana after finishing third in one of that season's Copa Libertadores groups.
The eight winners of those ties join the eight group winners in the round of 16 and from there it is a two-legged knockout competition until the final, which is a one-off fixture played at a pre-selected venue.
Copa Sudamericana dates/schedule
Dates for the 2026 Copa Sudamericana are as follows.
First round: 3rd-5th March
Group Stage: 7th April-28th May
Knockout round play-offs: First legs 21st-23rd July, second legs 28th-30th July
Round of 16: First legs 11th-13th August, second legs 18th-20th August
Quarter-finals: First legs 8th-10th September, second legs 15th-17th September
Semi-finals: First legs 13th-15th October, second legs 20th-22nd October
Final: 21st November
Copa Sudamericana venues/stadiums
Matches in the Copa Sudamericana are played at the stadium of the designated home team throughout the competition until the final, which is staged at a venue pre-selected by CONMEBOL.
The location of the 2026 final has yet to be announced by CONMEBOL.
Copa Sudamericana history
The Copa Sudamericana was first contested in 2002 following the disbandment of both the Copa Merconorte and Copa Mercosur and the inaugural title was won by Argentinian club San Lorenzo, who beat Colombia's Atletico Nacional in the final.
Only 21 teams contested the first Copa Sudamericana, compared to 56 in 2025, and the competition has certainly evolved over the years.
From 2004-2008 teams from CONCACAF (North America) were invited to compete, and Mexican outfit Pachuca lifted the trophy in 2006. From the competition's inception the final was initially a two-legged affair, before switching to a one-off match from 2019 onwards.
The current champions are Lanus of Argentina, who claimed their second title in November 2025 by defeating Brazil's Atletico Mineiro.
Argentina are the best performing country in Copa Sudamericana history, claiming 11 of the 24 titles, while Brazil (five) and Ecuador (four) are the only other nations that have seen their sides pick up more than one trophy.
