2021 Copa Libertadores

The 2021 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores will be the 62nd edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the Copa Libertadores), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.

2021 Copa Libertadores
Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores 2021
Tournament details
Dates23 February – 20 November 2021
Teams47 (from 10 associations)

The winners of the 2021 Copa Libertadores will qualify for the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, and earn the right to play against the winners of the 2021 Copa Sudamericana in the 2022 Recopa Sudamericana. They will also automatically qualify for the 2022 Copa Libertadores group stage. Palmeiras will be the defending champions.

Starting from this season, teams must be in the top division of their member association to play in South American club competitions,[1] except for teams which are champions of the qualifying tournaments or cups.[2]

On 14 May 2020, CONMEBOL announced the candidate venues for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 club competition finals.[3][4]

Teams

The following 47 teams from the 10 CONMEBOL member associations will qualify for the tournament:[5]

  • Copa Libertadores champions
  • Copa Sudamericana champions
  • Brazil: 7 berths
  • Argentina: 6 berths
  • All other associations: 4 berths each

The entry stage is determined as follows:[5]

  • Group stage: 28 teams
    • Copa Libertadores champions
    • Copa Sudamericana champions
    • Teams which qualified for berths 1–5 from Argentina and Brazil
    • Teams which qualified for berths 1–2 from all other associations
  • Second stage: 13 teams
    • Teams which qualified for berths 6–7 from Brazil
    • Team which qualified for berth 6 from Argentina
    • Teams which qualified for berths 3–4 from Chile and Colombia
    • Teams which qualified for berth 3 from all other associations
  • First stage: 6 teams
    • Teams which qualified for berth 4 from Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela
Association Team (Berth) Entry stage Qualification method
 Argentina
(6 + 1 berths)		 Defensa y Justicia (Argentina 1, Copa Sudamericana) Group stage 2020 Copa Sudamericana champions
Boca Juniors (Argentina 2) 2019–20 Superliga Argentina and 2020 Copa de la Liga Profesional champions[6][7][Note ARG]
River Plate (Argentina 3) 2019–20 Superliga Argentina and 2020 Copa de la Superliga aggregate table best team not yet qualified[6][7][8][Note ARG]
Racing (Argentina 4) 2019–20 Superliga Argentina and 2020 Copa de la Superliga aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified[6][7][Note ARG]
Argentinos Juniors (Argentina 5) 2019–20 Superliga Argentina and 2020 Copa de la Superliga aggregate table 3rd best team not yet qualified[6][7][Note ARG]
Vélez Sarsfield (Argentina 6) 2019–20 Superliga Argentina and 2020 Copa de la Superliga aggregate table 4th best team not yet qualified[6][7][Note ARG]
San Lorenzo (Argentina 7) Second stage 2019–20 Superliga Argentina and 2020 Copa de la Superliga aggregate table 5th best team not yet qualified[6][7][Note ARG]
 Bolivia
(4 berths)		 Always Ready (Bolivia 1) Group stage 2020 Apertura champions
The Strongest (Bolivia 2) 2020 Apertura runners-up[Note BOL]
Bolívar (Bolivia 3) Second stage 2020 Apertura 3rd place[Note BOL]
Royal Pari (Bolivia 4) First stage 2020 Apertura 4th place[Note BOL]
 Brazil
(7 + 1 berths)		 Palmeiras (Brazil 1, Title holders) Group stage 2020 Copa Libertadores champions
[Note BRA] (Brazil 2) 2020 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A champions
(Brazil 3) 2020 Copa do Brasil champions
[Note BRA] (Brazil 4) 2020 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A runners-up
[Note BRA] (Brazil 5) 2020 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 3rd place
[Note BRA] (Brazil 6) 2020 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 4th place
[Note BRA] (Brazil 7) Second stage 2020 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 5th place
[Note BRA] (Brazil 8) 2020 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 6th place
 Chile
(4 berths)		 [Note CHI] (Chile 1) Group stage 2020 Primera División champions
[Note CHI] (Chile 2) 2020 Primera División runners-up
[Note CHI] (Chile 3) Second stage 2020 Primera División 3rd place
[Note CHI] (Chile 4) 2020 Primera División 4th place[Note CHI]
 Colombia
(4 berths)		 América de Cali (Colombia 1) Group stage 2020 Primera A champions[Note COL]
Santa Fe (Colombia 2) 2020 Primera A runners-up[Note COL]
Junior (Colombia 3) Second stage 2020 Primera A aggregate table best team not yet qualified[Note COL]
Atlético Nacional (Colombia 4) 2020 Primera A aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified[Note COL]
 Ecuador
(4 berths)		 Barcelona (Ecuador 1) Group stage 2020 Serie A champions
LDU Quito (Ecuador 2) 2020 Serie A runners-up
Independiente del Valle (Ecuador 3) Second stage 2020 Serie A aggregate table best team not yet qualified
Universidad Católica (Ecuador 4) First stage 2020 Serie A aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified
 Paraguay
(4 berths)		 Cerro Porteño (Paraguay 1) Group stage 2020 Primera División tournament (Apertura or Clausura) champions with better record in aggregate table
Olimpia (Paraguay 2) 2020 Primera División tournament (Apertura or Clausura) champions with worse record in aggregate table
Libertad (Paraguay 3) Second stage 2020 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualified
Guaraní (Paraguay 4) First stage 2020 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified
 Peru
(4 berths)		 Sporting Cristal (Peru 1) Group stage 2020 Liga 1 champions
Universitario (Peru 2) 2020 Liga 1 runners-up
Ayacucho (Peru 3) Second stage 2020 Liga 1 3rd place
Universidad César Vallejo (Peru 4) First stage 2020 Liga 1 aggregate table best team not yet qualified
 Uruguay
(4 berths)		 (Uruguay 1) Group stage 2020 Primera División champions[Note URU]
(Uruguay 2) 2020 Primera División runners-up[Note URU]
(Uruguay 3) Second stage 2020 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualified[Note URU]
Liverpool (Uruguay 4) First stage 2020 Primera División aggregate table 5th place as of 7 February 2021[Note URU]
 Venezuela
(4 berths)		 Deportivo La Guaira (Venezuela 1) Group stage 2020 Primera División champions[Note VEN]
Deportivo Táchira (Venezuela 2) 2020 Primera División runners-up[Note VEN]
Deportivo Lara (Venezuela 3) Second stage 2020 Primera División 3rd place[Note VEN]
Caracas (Venezuela 4) First stage 2020 Primera División 4th place[Note VEN]
Notes
  1. Argentina (ARG):
    • On 28 April 2020, the Argentine Football Association announced the abandonment of the 2020 Copa de la Superliga and the culmination of the 2019–20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina. The six Argentina berths of the 2021 Copa Libertadores were awarded to the following:[9]
    • On 11 December 2020 it was confirmed that the 2019–20 Copa Argentina would not be completed in time to award its winner a berth into the 2021 Copa Libertadores, therefore the Argentina 3 berth was reallocated to the best team of the 2019–20 Superliga Argentina and 2020 Copa de la Superliga aggregate table not yet qualified.[10]
  2. Bolivia (BOL): The 2020 Clausura tournament was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bolivia, therefore the Bolivia 2, Bolivia 3, and Bolivia 4 berths of the 2021 Copa Libertadores were reallocated to the 2020 Apertura runners-up, 3rd and 4th placed teams, respectively.
  3. Brazil (BRA):
  4. Chile (CHI):
  5. Colombia (COL):
    • On 25 July 2020, DIMAYOR decided that the 2020 Categoría Primera A season, suspended from 13 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia, would only have a single tournament played for the remainder of the season. Therefore, the Colombia 1 berth of the 2021 Copa Libertadores, originally awarded to the 2020 Apertura champions, and the Colombia 2 berth, originally awarded to the 2020 Finalización champions, would instead be awarded to the champions and runners-up of that single tournament, respectively.[12]
    • On 9 September 2020, DIMAYOR confirmed the reallocation of the four Colombia berths of the 2021 Copa Libertadores as follows:[13]
      • The Colombia 1 berth was awarded to the 2020 Primera A champions.
      • The Colombia 2 berth was awarded to the 2020 Primera A runners-up.
      • The Colombia 3 berth was awarded to the 2020 Primera A aggregate table best team not yet qualified.
      • The Colombia 4 berth, originally awarded to the 2020 Copa Colombia champions, was awarded to the 2020 Primera A aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified.
  6. Uruguay (URU): Given that the 2020 Primera División will not be concluded before the start of the 2021 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Uruguay, on 14 January 2021 the League Council of the Uruguayan Football Association approved a temporary modification to the qualification method of Uruguayan teams. Since associations must formally inform CONMEBOL of the teams that will take part in international competition in advance to the start of competition, international berths will be decided based on deadlines set according to the dates the respective Copa Libertadores rounds are scheduled for as well as the placements of teams in the 2020 Primera División aggregate table at the time of those deadlines:[14]
    • The Uruguay 4 berth was awarded to the best eligible team of the 2020 Primera División aggregate table as of 7 February 2021, considering that the Copa Libertadores first stage is scheduled to begin on 23 February 2021. Liverpool (2020 Primera División aggregate table 5th place as of 7 February 2021) accepted the berth after the top four of the aggregate table at that moment (Nacional, Montevideo City Torque, Peñarol, and Rentistas) all declined to take the berth.[15]
    • The Uruguay 3 berth will be awarded to the best eligible team of the 2020 Primera División aggregate table as of 21 February 2021, considering that the Copa Libertadores second stage is scheduled to begin on 9 March 2021.
    • In the event the season is not concluded by 11 April 2021, the Uruguay 1 and Uruguay 2 berths will be awarded to the best two eligible teams of the 2020 Primera División aggregate table as of that day, considering that the Copa Libertadores group stage is scheduled to begin on 20 April 2021.
    • Teams will be offered the chance to accept or decline the berths they are eligible for at the time of the respective deadlines.
  7. Venezuela (VEN): On 15 May 2020, the Venezuelan Football Federation decided the permanent suspension of the 2020 Venezuelan Primera División season and the voiding of the standings and results recorded due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela.[16][17] The allocation of the four Venezuela berths of the 2021 Copa Libertadores would be announced at a later time, with the FVF confirming a will to organize a new tournament in which sporting merit, club licensing requirements, and medical protocols were applied.[18] The definitive berth allocations were confirmed by the FVF on 18 September 2020.[19]

Schedule

The schedule of the competition will be as follows:[20][21]

On 4 February 2021, CONMEBOL announced a rescheduling for the qualifying stages.[22]

Stage Draw date First leg Second leg
First stage 5 February 2021[23] 23–24 February 2021
(originally 16–18 February 2021)		 2–3 March 2021
(originally 23–25 February 2021)
Second stage 9–11 March 2021
(originally 2–4 March 2021)		 16–18 March 2021
(originally 9–11 March 2021)
Third stage 6–8 April 2021
(originally 16–18 March 2021)		 13–15 April 2021
(originally 6–8 April 2021)
Group stage 16 April 2021
  • Matchday 1: 20–22 April 2021
  • Matchday 2: 27–29 April 2021
  • Matchday 3: 4–6 May 2021
  • Matchday 4: 11–13 May 2021
  • Matchday 5: 18–20 May 2021
  • Matchday 6: 25–27 May 2021
Round of 16 2 June 2021 13–15 July 2021 20–22 July 2021
Quarter-finals 10–12 August 2021 17–19 August 2021
Semi-finals 21–23 September 2021 28–30 September 2021
Final 20 November 2021

Draws
Location of teams of the 2021 Copa Libertadores.
Red: Group stage; Blue: Play-off rounds; White: Stage TBD.

The draw for the qualifying stages was held on 5 February 2021, 12:00 PYST (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.[23][24]

Teams were seeded by their CONMEBOL Clubs ranking as of 1 February 2021 (shown in parentheses),[25][26] taking into account the following three factors:[27]

  1. Performance in the last 10 years, taking into account Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana results in the period 2011–2020.
  2. Historical coefficient, taking into account Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana results in the period 1960–2010 and 2002-2010 respectively.
  3. Local tournament champion, with bonus points awarded to domestic league champions of the last 10 years

For the first stage, the six teams were drawn into three ties (E1–E3), with the teams from Pot 1 hosting the second leg.

First stage draw
Pot 1 Pot 2
Notes
  1. ^
    URU The identity of the team Uruguay 4 was not known at the time of the draw, and was seeded in Pot 2.

For the second stage, the 16 teams were drawn into eight ties (C1–C8), with the teams from Pot 1 hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn into the same tie, excluding the three winners of the first stage, which are allocated to Pot 2 and whose identity is not known at the time of the draw, and can be drawn into the same tie with another team from the same association.

Second stage draw
Pot 1 Pot 2
  • Brazil 7[BRA] (?)
  • Brazil 8[BRA] (?)
  • Chile 3[CHI] (?)
  • Chile 4[CHI] (?)
  • Uruguay 3[URU] (?)
  • First stage winner E1
  • First stage winner E2
  • First stage winner E3
Notes
  1. ^
    BRA The identity of the teams Brazil 7 and Brazil 8 was not known at the time of the draw, and were seeded in Pot 2.
  2. ^
    CHI The identity of the teams Chile 3 and Chile 4 was not known at the time of the draw, and were seeded in Pot 2.
  3. ^
    URU The identity of the team Uruguay 3 was not known at the time of the draw, and was seeded in Pot 2.

For the third stage, the eight winners of the second stage were allocated without any draw into the following four ties (G1–G4), with the team in each tie with the higher CONMEBOL ranking hosting the second leg. As their identity is not known at the time of the draw, they can be drawn into the same tie with another team from the same association.

  • Second stage winner C1 vs. Second stage winner C8
  • Second stage winner C2 vs. Second stage winner C7
  • Second stage winner C3 vs. Second stage winner C6
  • Second stage winner C4 vs. Second stage winner C5

The draw for the group stage will be held on 16 April 2021. Teams were also seeded by their CONMEBOL Clubs ranking as of 1 February 2021 (shown in parentheses),[26] taking into account the same three factors. For the group stage, the 32 qualified teams will be drawn into eight groups (Groups A–H) of four containing a team from each of the four pots.

Qualifying stages
Main article: 2021 Copa Libertadores qualifying stages

In the qualifying stages, each tie is played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule will be used. If still tied, extra time will not be played, and a penalty shoot-out will be used to determine the winner. The qualifying stages are structured as follows:

  • First stage (6 teams): The three winners of the first stage advance to the second stage to join the 13 teams which are given byes to the second stage.
  • Second stage (16 teams): The eight winners of the second stage advance to the third stage.
  • Third stage (8 teams): The four winners of the third stage advance to the group stage to join the 28 direct entrants. The four teams eliminated in the third stage enter the Copa Sudamericana group stage.

First stage
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Liverpool E1 Universidad Católica 23 Feb 2 Mar
Universidad César Vallejo E2 Caracas 24 Feb 3 Mar
Royal Pari E3 Guaraní 24 Feb 3 Mar

Second stage
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
E1 C1 Libertad 10 Mar 17 Mar
Brazil 7 C2 Ayacucho 9 Mar 16 Mar
Uruguay 3 C3 Bolívar 9 Mar 16 Mar
Chile 3 C4 San Lorenzo 10 Mar 17 Mar
Brazil 8 C5 Deportivo Lara 9 Mar 16 Mar
E2 C6 Junior 10 Mar 17 Mar
Chile 4 C7 Independiente del Valle 9 Mar 16 Mar
E3 C8 Atlético Nacional 11 Mar 18 Mar

Third stage
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Winner C1 G1[†] Winner C8 6–8 Apr 13–15 Apr
Winner C2 G2[†] Winner C7 6–8 Apr 13–15 Apr
Winner C3 G3[†] Winner C6 6–8 Apr 13–15 Apr
Winner C4 G4[†] Winner C5 6–8 Apr 13–15 Apr
  1. † Order of legs to be decided, with the second stage winners with the higher CONMEBOL ranking hosting the second leg.

Copa Sudamericana qualification

The four teams eliminated in the third stage will enter the Copa Sudamericana group stage.

Match Third stage losers
G1
G2
G3
G4

Group stage

The following 32 teams will be involved in the group stage (CONMEBOL Clubs ranking as of 1 February 2021 shown in parentheses):

Notes
  1. ^
    TH The defending Copa Libertadores champions.
  2. ^
    CS The defending Copa Sudamericana champions.

See also

References
  1. "CONMEBOL actualiza criterios de elegibilidad de clubes para sus torneos del 2020". CONMEBOL.com. 22 May 2019.
  2. "CONMEBOL recuerda los requisitos exigibles para participar en la Libertadores y Sudamericana 2021". CONMEBOL.com. 10 December 2019.
  3. "Ciudades postulantes para las Finales Únicas de los próximos tres años". CONMEBOL.com. 14 May 2020.
  4. "POSTULANTES A LAS FINALES 2021, 2022 Y 2023" (PDF). CONMEBOL.com.
  5. "Copa Bridgestone Libertadores 2017 tendrá 47 clubes". CONMEBOL.com. 6 December 2016.
  6. "Cómo será la clasificación a las copas Libertadores y Sudamericana de 2021" (in Spanish). ambito.com. 19 July 2019.
  7. "Boletín N° 5768". Asociación del Fútbol Argentino. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  8. "Boletín N° 5834" (PDF). Asociación del Fútbol Argentino. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  9. "Campeonatos oficiales de la Asociación". Argentine Football Association. 28 April 2020.
  10. "AFA confirmó cómo se define el cupo de la Copa Argentina a la Libertadores" (in Spanish). TyC Sports. 11 December 2020.
  11. "Consejo de la ANFP modificó las bases para los cupos de Libertadores y Sudamericana" (in Spanish). AS Chile. 30 December 2020.
  12. "¡Aceptado! Así será el retorno del fútbol colombiano". El Tiempo. 25 July 2020.
  13. "SÍNTESIS DE LA ASAMBLEA EXTRAORDINARIA DE LA DIMAYOR". DIMAYOR. 9 September 2020.
  14. "AUF: Consejo de Liga aprobó el régimen especial para la clasificación a las copas". Futbol.com.uy. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  15. "Liverpool será "Uruguay 4" en la Copa Libertadores 2021 tras negativa de cuatro clubes" (in Spanish). Futbol.com.uy. 8 February 2021.
  16. "FVF suspendió de forma definitiva torneos de primera y segunda división Temporada 2020". Venezuelan Football Federation. 15 May 2020.
  17. "RESOLUCIÓN CU 013/2020" (PDF). Venezuelan Football Federation. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  18. "Lubín Angulo: La FVF trabaja para tener un campeonato este año". Venezuelan Football Federation. 16 May 2020.
  19. "Definidos grupos y formato para el regreso de la Liga FutVe 2020". Venezuelan Football Federation. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  20. "Se viene una CONMEBOL Sudamericana más competitiva y representativa". CONMEBOL.com. 2 October 2020.
  21. "CALENDÁRIO 2021: CONMEBOL Libertadores - CONMEBOL Sudamericana - RECOPA" (PDF). CONMEBOL.com.
  22. "Fechas actualizadas de las competiciones de clubes 2021" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 4 February 2021.
  23. "Este viernes se sortea el camino para las competiciones de clubes 2021" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 2 February 2021.
  24. "La suerte está echada en la CONMEBOL Libertadores" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 5 February 2021.
  25. "Se lanza el Ranking de Clubes CONMEBOL 2021" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 2 February 2021.
  26. "RANKING DE CLUBES DE LA CONMEBOL 2021" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com.
  27. "RANKING DE CLUBES DE LA CONMEBOL 2021 SISTEMA DE PUNTAJE" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com.
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