The Copa Libertadores is one of the most prestigious soccer competitions in the world and the most important club tournament on the continent. With such importance, especially for us Brazilians who dream of seeing our team become champions, it’s essential to understand everything about the Copa Libertadores.
Here we’ve gathered the history, the rules, how it works, the champions, records, prize money and some interesting facts about the tournament that touches the heart of every Brazilian.
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What is the Copa Libertadores?
The Copa Libertadores, organized by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), is the main club soccer tournament in South America. The competition brings together the best teams on the continent, offering a platform for high-quality displays and intense rivalries.
Below, we’ll tell you all about the Copa Libertadores, including its history and how it became so important to world soccer.
History of the Copa Libertadores
The Copa Libertadores was first held in 1960 and was designed to determine the best soccer club in South America. Initially, seven national champions took part in the tournament. Uruguay’s Peñarol was the competition’s first winner.
Over time, the Libertadores has grown in importance and popularity, including more teams and expanding its format.
So that you can understand everything about the Copa Libertadores, check out the uncomplicated rules manual we’ve created below.
Copa Libertadores rules
Who can take part in the Copa Libertadores?
Each CONMEBOL country has a number of places. As a result, the selection of clubs that can take part in the Copa Libertadores is based on the teams’ performance in national championships and cups. In addition, the winners of the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana are also guaranteed a place in the following year’s tournament.
The division of places by country in South America works as follows:
- Brazil has seven places
- Argentina can enter six teams;
- the other countries have four places each.
In 2024, seven teams from Brazil competed in the tournament: Fluminense, Palmeiras, Flamengo, Grêmio, São Paulo, Atlético-MG and Botafogo.
How do Brazilian teams qualify for the Libertadores?
In Brazil, the winner of the Copa do Brasil and the top six finishers in the Campeonato Brasileiro da Série A qualify, making a total of seven teams. If the winner of the Copa do Brasil is among the top six in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, the seventh-placed team in the Brasileirão also enters the Libertadores.
However, in order to understand everything about the Copa Libertadores, we need to look at some observations about the distribution of the seven places:
- the top four finishers in the Brasileirão, members of the famous G-4, qualify directly for the Libertadores group stage;
- the winner of the Copa do Brasil also qualifies directly for the group stage;
- if the Libertadores champion is Brazilian, they also qualify directly for the group stage;
- the fifth and sixth-placed teams in the Brasileirão must play in the Pre-Libertadores.
Read also: All about the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: rules and how it works?
How does the Copa Libertadores work?
Pre-Libertadores
The pre-Libertadores is a stage that takes place before the group stage. It is made up of knockout matches played by clubs that did not qualify directly for the Copa Libertadores Group Stage.
These teams are usually those that finished in the middle of the national championships in their respective countries.
As we said above, in Brazil, the pre-Libertadores phase is usually contested by the clubs that finished 5th and 6th in the Brasileirão.
Normally, six clubs take part in the First Phase, with three round-robin matches. The winners of each match advance to the Libertadores group stage.
In 2024, two Brazilians met in the pre-Libertadores: Botafogo and Red Bull Bragantino.
The alvinegro won 3-2 on aggregate and progressed to the group stage.
Group stage
Following the guide to the Copa Libertadores, we come to the group stage, in which the teams are divided into groups. There are eight groups with four teams each.
The eight groups will be drawn by lot.
It’s worth remembering that 32 teams have been drawn so far, which will be separated into four pots with eight teams each.
The teams previously guaranteed a place in the group stage (who don’t go through the pre-Libertadores) are distributed in the pots according to their position in the Conmebol ranking.
The top eight teams are placed in pot 1, the next eight in pot 2, and so on.
In the last pot are the four teams with the worst rankings, as well as the four teams that won the pre-Libertadores.
The draw starts with the top teams, who are in pot 1, and will occupy position 1 of groups A to H.
The event will then continue with pot 2, and each team, in order of appearance, will complete the groups. The first team drawn is in group A, the second in group B, the third in C and so on until all eight groups are completed. This draw takes place with all the pots, which follow the same distribution logic.
After the tournament and the definition of the groups, the phase begins in which all the teams in a group play each other twice, round and round.
As a result, the two best-placed teams in each group advance to the knockout stage and the third-placed teams in each group go on to the Copa Sudamericana.
- Group stage: Scoring based on wins (3 points), draws (1 point) and losses (0 points).
- Play-off criteria: Goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head and draw (if necessary).
Knockout stages
The Libertadores has four knockout stages:
- Round of 16: 16 teams compete in back-to-back matches.
- Quarter-finals: 8 remaining teams compete in two matches.
- Semi-finals: 4 teams face each other in round-robin matches.
- Final: Single match at a predetermined venue.
Libertadores final match
Since 2019, the Copa Libertadores final has been played in a single match, unlike previous years when the final was played in back-to-back matches.
This new format follows the trend of other international competitions, such as the UEFA Champions League, to increase the excitement and unpredictability of the event.
CONMEBOL chooses a host city for the final before the competition begins, as well as the date and time of the final.
The event usually takes place at the end of the year (November or December).
All about the Copa Libertadores: curiosities about the tournament
Who are the greatest Copa Libertadores champions?
The list of Copa Libertadores’ greatest champions includes:
- Independiente (Argentina): 7 titles
- Boca Juniors (Argentina): 6 titles
- Peñarol (Uruguay): 5 titles
- River Plate (Argentina): 4 titles
- Estudiantes (Argentina): 4 titles
Among the Brazilians, the biggest winners are: São Paulo, Palmeiras, Grêmio, Santos and Flamengo with three trophies each.
What is the prize money for the Copa Libertadores?
The Copa Libertadores prize money varies from edition to edition, but in 2024, the amounts were as follows:
- Group stage: US$3 million + US$330,000 per win.
- Round of 16: US$ 1.25 million
- Quarter-finals: US$1.7 million
- Semi-final: US$2.3 million
- Runners-up: US$ 7 million
- Champion: US$ 23 million (R$ 115.7 million)
Now you have a complete guide to the Copa Libertadores, a tournament that transcends soccer, symbolizing the passion, rivalry and excellence of South American soccer.
Each edition brings new stories, heroes and unforgettable moments, cementing its place as one of the most exciting sporting events in the world.
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