October 5 – The Copa Sudamericana will feature a group-stage format for the 2021 season, Conmebol has announced.
South America’s equivalent of the Europa League has previously been played as a knock-out cup, but the new format will see the introduction of a group stage and an increase in the number of participating clubs by 12 to create “a more competitive and more representative” competition.
With the expansion the governing body wants to ensure that all of the ten member associations have at least one representative in the group stage. In reality, the number of new participants will remain limited as 10 clubs drop down from the Copa Libertadores after the group stage to the Copa Sudamericana in the current format, but organisers’ remodeling the competition is aimed at allowing for a more diverse playing field.
Whether the introduction of more matches – six per team in the group stage – is a wise idea at a time when the football calendar has never been more congested than now due to the coronavirus pandemic, remains to be seen.
The current edition of the tournament was suspended after first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will only resume at the end of this month with the final rescheduled for late January next year.
The hiatus in play will have a knock-on effect in 2021 with both this season’s Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores finishing only next year. In the current format, a club plays a maximum of 10 games to reach the final whereas in the new format a club entering in the first round will require as many as 14 games to get a chance at winning the competition.
On its website, Conmebol wrote: “The new format will not change the regular calendar, overloading clubs and members associations, and will be played with the same number of teams as in the present.”
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1714761347labto1714761347ofdlr1714761347owedi1714761347sni@o1714761347fni1714761347