The continental excitement begins: awards, formats, matches and everything you need to know about the Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana

Fluminense players lift the trophy after winning the Copa Libertadores final. Archive photo. EFE/ Andre Coelho

The greatest excitement of South America will begin with the group stage of the Copa Libertadores. There will be 32 teams in search of continental conquest, in the international competition that will have a total of 54 matches, six for each of the eight zones, which will define the 16 best that will qualify for the round of 16.

All matches will be broadcast live through the different ESPN and Star+ signals. In addition, as part of the television coverage, Telefé will broadcast a match each day in which an Argentine team participates. For those who prefer to follow the action online, the digital platforms Flow, DGO and Telecentro Play will offer alternatives to tune in to both channels.

With the exception of Godoy Cruz, whose adventure in the previous phases came to an end when he lost to Colo Colo, all the Argentines classified for the competition will be present in the group stage. River Plate, four-time champion of the region’s biggest event, will be seeded in Group H, while San Lorenzo will be part of the complex Group F, where they will have major rivals such as Palmeiras and Independiente del Valle.

For its part, Estudiantes de La Plata will face the experienced Gremio de Porto Alegre team in Group C. In addition, Rosario Central, remembered semi-finalist of the 2001 edition, will have its high-caliber challenge in Group G, where the match against Peñarol stands out. Finally, Talleres de Córdoba will have a demanding test against San Pablo in Group B.

The group stage format involves home and away matches between the teams in each zone, with a total of six games for each. The two leaders of each group will advance directly to the round of 16, while the third parties will qualify for a playoff against the runners-up of the Copa Sudamericana to decide who will continue in this second competition in the top 16 stage.

Since then, the round-trip eliminatory matches will determine the finalists who will compete for glory in the decisive duel, scheduled for November 30 in Buenos Aires, with the stage still to be defined.

The Copa Libertadores, whose history dates back to 1960, will distribute 225.9 million dollars in 2024, that is, 18 million more than the 207.8 million disbursed in the 2023 edition, which crowned Fluminense. The champion will take home $23 million, while the runner-up will take home $7 million.

GROUP PHASE OF THE LIBERTADORES CUP

Group A: Fluminense, Cerro Porteño, Alianza Lima and Colo Colo

Group B: San Pablo, Barcelona de Guayaquil, Talleres de Córdoba and Cobresal

Group C: Gremio, Estudiantes de La Plata, The Strongest and Huachipato

Group D: Quito League, Barranquilla Junior, Universitario and Botafogo

Group E: Flamengo, Bolivar, Millonarios de Bogotá and Palestino

Group F: Palmeiras, Independiente del Valle, San Lorenzo and Liverpool from Uruguay

Group G: Peñarol, Atlético Mineiro, Rosario Central and Caracas

Group H: River Plate, Freedom of Paraguay, Deportivo Táchira and National of Montevideo

LIBERTATORS CUP AGENDA

Group phase: Between the week of 4/2 and 5/30.

Round of 16: Weeks of 8/13 and 8/20.

Quarterfinals: Week of 9/17 and 9/24.

Semifinal: Week of 10/22 and 10/29.

Final: Saturday, November 30.

LDU Quito players celebrate after winning the Copa Sudamericana against Fortaleza, at the Domingo Burgueño Miguel stadium in Maldonado (Uruguay). EFE/ Raúl Martínez

In the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana there will be six Argentine teams that will also seek to strike on the other side of the borders. It should be noted that the best from each zone will advance to the round of 16 and will wait for the winner of the play-offs between the second and third places in the Libertadores groups. In these playoffs there will be back-and-forth matches, with no away goal, until the two who will seek the title in the single final on November 23 are defined.

Conmebol also increased the amount of prizes this year for the tournament that was born in 2002. In the round of 16 of the Libertadores, each match will distribute 1.25 million dollars; the quarterfinals will deliver 1.7 million per game and the semifinals 2.3 million. In the Sudamericana, 300,000 dollars will be distributed per first phase match and an additional prize of 115,000 per game won. In the round of 32 of this competition, which last year the Quito League won for the second time, there will be 500,000 dollars per game, 600,000 in the round of 16 and 700,000 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, 800,000 dollars will be awarded per match, while the champion will take 6 million and the runner-up 2 million.

Group A: Defense and Justice, Independiente of Medellín, Universidad César Vallejo of Peru and Always Ready of Bolivia.

Group B: Cruzeiro, Union La Calera of Chile, Catholic University of Ecuador and Alliance FC of Venezuela.

Group C: Internacional from Porto Alegre, Delfín from Ecuador, Belgrano from Córdoba and Real Tomayapo from Bolivia.

Group D: Boca Juniors, Fortress, National Potosí and Sports Trinidad of Paraguay.

Group E: Athletico Paranaense, Danubio, Sportivo Ameliano and Rayo Zuliano from Venezuela.

Group F: Corinthians, Argentine Juniors, Racing of Uruguay and National of Paraguay.

Group G: Lanús, Metropolitanos, Cuiaba from Brazil and Deportivo Garcilaso from Peru.

Group H: Racing, Coquimbo United of Chile, Sportivo Luqueño of Paraguay and RB Bragantino of Brazil.

Soccer – Draw for the Libertadores and Sudamericana cups – Conmebol Headquarters, Luque, Paraguay, March 18, 2024. The trophies of the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana. REUTERS/Cesar Olmedo

THE AGENDA OF THE DAY

Libertadores Cup:

19:00 Cobresal vs Barcelona de Guayaquil (Fox Sports)

19:00 Millonarios de Bogotá vs Flamengo (Fox Sports)

21:00 The Strongest vs Gremio (Fox Sports)

21:30 Deportivo Táchira vs River Plate (Telefé)

23:00 Universitario de Perú vs Liga de Quito (Fox Sports)

South American Cup

19:00 Belgrano de Córdoba vs Internacional de Porto Alegre (ESPN)

19:00 National of Paraguay vs Argentinos Juniors (DSports)

21:30 Racing de Montevideo vs Corinthians (DSports)

9.30pm Sportivo Ameliano vs At. Paranaense (ESPN)

23:00 UC Vallejo vs Defense and Justice (ESPN)