2023 Copa Sudamericana Explained

The 2023 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 22nd edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the Copa Sudamericana), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.

The final was played in Maldonado, Uruguay on 28 October 2023. Originally scheduled to be held in Montevideo,^[1] on 15 April 2023 it was announced that the final would be played at Estadio Centenario,^[2] however the match was confirmed to have been moved to Estadio Domingo Burgueño in Maldonado on 15 September 2023.^[3]

Ecuadorian club LDU Quito were the champions, winning their second title in the competition after defeating Brazilian club Fortaleza 4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in the final.^[4] As winners of the 2023 Copa Sudamericana, LDU Quito earned the right to play against the winners of the 2023 Copa Libertadores in the 2024 Recopa Sudamericana. They also automatically qualified for the 2024 Copa Libertadores group stage.

Independiente del Valle were the titleholders, but did not defend their title since they qualified for the 2023 Copa Libertadores group stage as Copa Sudamericana champions and later advanced to the knockout stage.

Format changes

On 19 December 2022, CONMEBOL announced format changes to the Copa Sudamericana starting from this edition while maintaining the same number of matches to be played. The following changes were implemented:

• The first stage of the tournament, where teams from all associations (except Argentina and Brazil) play against a team from their same association, was played over a single match instead of a home-and-away two-legged basis.
• The eight group runner-ups were not eliminated, but instead played a play-off round prior to the round of 16 against the eight third-placed teams of the Copa Libertadores group stage, which previously advanced directly to the round of 16. The winners of this round advanced to the round of 16 along with the Copa Sudamericana group winners.

Teams

The following 44 teams from the 10 CONMEBOL associations qualified for the tournament:^[5]

• Argentina and Brazil: 6 berths each
• All other associations: 4 berths each

The entry stage is determined as follows:^[6]

• Group stage: 12 teams (teams from Argentina and Brazil)
• First stage: 32 teams (teams from all other associations)

Association	Team	Entry stage	Qualification method
		Group stage	2022 Copa de la Liga Profesional and Primera División aggregate table best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores[7]
			2022 Copa de la Liga Profesional and Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Copa de la Liga Profesional and Primera División aggregate table 3rd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Copa de la Liga Profesional and Primera División aggregate table 4th best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Copa de la Liga Profesional and Primera División aggregate table 5th best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Copa de la Liga Profesional and Primera División aggregate table 6th best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
		First stage	2022 Primera División aggregate table best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Primera División aggregate table 3rd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Primera División aggregate table 4th best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
		Group stage	2022 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores[8]
			2022 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 2nd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 3rd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 4th best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 5th best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 6th best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
		First stage	2022 Primera División best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores[9]
			2022 Primera División 2nd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Primera División 3rd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Primera División 4th best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
		First stage	2022 Primera A aggregate table best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores[10]
			2022 Primera A aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Primera A aggregate table 3rd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Primera A aggregate table 4th best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
		First stage	2022 Serie A aggregate table best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores[11]
			2022 Serie A aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Serie A aggregate table 3rd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Serie A aggregate table 4th best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
		First stage	2022 Primera División aggregate table best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores[12]
			2022 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Primera División aggregate table 3rd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Copa Paraguay champions
		First stage	2022 Liga 1 aggregate table best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores[13]
			2022 Liga 1 aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Liga 1 aggregate table 3rd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Liga 1 aggregate table 4th best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
		First stage	2022 Primera División aggregate table best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores[14]
			2022 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Primera División aggregate table 3rd best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
			2022 Primera División aggregate table 4th best team not qualified for 2023 Copa Libertadores
		First stage	2022 Primera División Fase Final Sudamericana A winners[15]
			2022 Primera División Fase Final Sudamericana B winners
			2022 Primera División Fase Final Sudamericana A runners-up
			2022 Primera División Fase Final Sudamericana B runners-up

Notes

A further 12 teams eliminated from the 2023 Copa Libertadores were transferred to the Copa Sudamericana, entering the group stage and the knockout round play-offs.

Teams eliminated in third stage	Entry stage
Millonarios	Group stage
Huracán
Fortaleza
Magallanes
Third-placed teams in group stage	Entry stage
Ñublense	Knockout round play-offs
Independiente Medellín
Barcelona
Sporting Cristal
Corinthians
Colo-Colo
Libertad
Patronato

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows:^{[16] [17] [18]}

Stage	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
First stage	21 December 2022[19]	7–9 March 2023
Group stage	27 March 2023
Knockout round play-offs	No draw	11–13 July 2023	18–20 July 2023
Round of 16	5 July 2023[20]	1–3 August 2023	8–10 August 2023
Quarter-finals		22–24 August 2023	29–31 August 2023
Semi-finals		26–27 September 2023	3–4 October 2023
Final		28 October 2023 at Estadio Domingo Burgueño, Maldonado

Draws

First stage

See main article: 2023 Copa Sudamericana first stage.

Group stage

See main article: 2023 Copa Sudamericana group stage.

Group H

Final stages

See main article: 2023 Copa Sudamericana final stages.

Final

See main article: 2023 Copa Sudamericana final.

Statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Team																	Total
1	Gonzalo Mastriani	América Mineiro		2			1				2	1	2	1			9
2	Nicolás Fernández	Defensa y Justicia				1		1	3		1			2				8
3	Adam Bareiro	San Lorenzo							2	1	2	1			6
	Benjamín Rollheiser	Estudiantes						1	1		1	2	1
	Federico Santander	Guaraní	1	1	1	1	1		1
6	Eduardo Sasha	Red Bull Bragantino			1		1		3					5
	Sorriso	Red Bull Bragantino			1				2			2
	Gastón Togni	Defensa y Justicia				1	2	1			1

See also

• 2023 Copa Libertadores

External links

• CONMEBOL Sudamericana
• CONMEBOL.com

Notes and References

1. Web site: La Conmebol definió las sedes de las finales de las Copas Libertadores y Sudamericana . CONMEBOL set the venues for the Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana finals . . es . 8 March 2023 . 8 March 2023.
2. Web site: Conmebol confirmó la fecha y dónde se jugará la final de la Copa Libertadores . CONMEBOL confirmed the date and where the Copa Libertadores final will be played . . es . 25 April 2023 . 24 May 2023.
3. Web site: Sudamericana: la final se disputará en el Campus de Maldonado por pedido de Brasil . Sudamericana: The final will be played at the Maldonado Campus at the request of Brazil . Montevideo Portal. es . 15 September 2023. 15 September 2023.
4. Web site: Liga de Quito, campeón de la CONMEBOL Sudamericana . Liga de Quito, champion of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana . CONMEBOL Sudamericana . es . 28 October 2023 . 28 October 2023.
5. Web site: CONMEBOL Sudamericana / Manual de Clubes 2023. CONMEBOL.com. 9 March 2023.
6. Web site: Se viene una CONMEBOL Sudamericana más competitiva y representativa. CONMEBOL. 2 October 2020.
7. Web site: REGLAMENTO DE TORNEOS DE LA TEMPORADA 2022 DE LA LIGA PROFESIONAL DE FUTBOL DE AFA. Liga Profesional de Fútbol. 7 July 2022.
8. Web site: Regulamento Específico da Competição Brasileirão Assaí – 2022 . 7 July 2022 . CBF . pt-br.
9. Web site: BASES CAMPEONATO NACIONAL DE PRIMERA DIVISIÓN TEMPORADA 2022 . 7 July 2022 . ANFP . es.
10. Web site: REGLAMENTO OFICIAL LIGA BetPlay DIMAYOR II-2022 . 7 July 2022 . DIMAYOR . es.
11. Web site: Las 7 claves para seguir la LigaPro . The 7 keys to follow the LigaPro . Olé . 28 June 2022 . 28 August 2022. es.
12. Web site: REGLAMENTO DE COMPETICIÓN COPA DE PRIMERA TIGO — VISIÓN BANCO DIVISIÓN DE HONOR . 7 July 2022 . APF . es.
13. Web site: REGLAMENTO LIGA 1 BETSSON 2022 . 7 July 2022 . FPF . es.
14. Web site: Régimen de disputa de los torneos oficiales - vigente desde el 2018. es. AUF. 7 July 2022.
15. Web site: GUÍA OFICIAL TEMPORADA 2022 LIGA FUTVE . Liga FUTVE . 28 August 2022. es.
16. Web site: Calendario de torneos de la CONMEBOL 2023. CONMEBOL. es. 7 July 2022. 7 July 2022.
17. Web site: CALENDÁRIO 2023: CONMEBOL Libertadores - CONMEBOL Sudamericana - RECOPA. CONMEBOL.com. 7 July 2022. 7 July 2022.
18. Web site: Calendario de la CONMEBOL Libertadores y CONMEBOL Sudamericana 2023. CONMEBOL.com. 24 April 2023. 24 April 2023.
19. Web site: Copa Libertadores y Sudamericana 2023: Conmebol confirma fecha para el sorteo de las fases previas. 2023 Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana: CONMEBOL confirm date for the preliminary stages draw. ADN Radio. es. 22 November 2022. 23 November 2022.
20. Web site: Fecha y horario para los sorteos de los Octavos de Final. Date and time for the Round of 16 draws. CONMEBOL. es. 21 June 2023. 21 June 2023.