The federation’s commercial director, Juan Emilio Roa, explained that the eventual change would be part of a strategy to ‘increase interest’ outside of South America in the competition
Conmebol is considering taking the final outside of South America in the coming years, as part of a strategy to internationalize the continent’s main club tournament. The change in the venue for the title game would imply a new change in the decision of the competition, which since 2019 has been played in a single game and on a neutral field. Before the implementation of this format, which is used in the European Champions League, the Libertadores champion was defined in round-trip games, at the finalists’ homes. “This matter [a disputa da final fora da América do Sul] it is normally placed on the table and evaluated”, said Conmebol’s commercial director, Juan Emilio Roa, to the American portal The Athletic, in a report published this Tuesday (4).
“I can tell you that we have already decided on a plan for the next few years, but we are certainly evaluating it,” he added. Roa explained that the eventual change would be part of a strategy to “increase interest” outside of South America in the Libertadores, which has been played since 1960 and has a great impact on South American fans. “We are working on a set of measures so that interest grows outside of South America,” said the director.
Debates about the possible change take place at a time when Conmebol is discussing the sale of broadcasting rights for the period 2027-2030, according to The Athletic. This would mean following in the footsteps of other European competitions that have moved the finals of some of their tournaments to other countries, such as the Spanish and Italian Super Cups.
Recently, the Spanish LaLiga tried to move the game between Villarreal and Barcelona to Miami, in the United States, but abandoned the idea after opposition from clubs, fans and players.
The final of the Copa Libertadores 2025 will be on November 29th in Lima, Peru. Palmeiras and Flamengo will compete for the title, which for the seventh consecutive year will go to a Brazilian team. In its 65 years of existence, the Libertadores has only had one final game played outside of South America. It was in 2018, between Boca Juniors and River Plate.
After acts of violence before the second leg at the Monumental stadium, home of River, the decisive duel between Argentina’s two most popular clubs took place at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, in Madrid, and ended with the ‘Millionarios’ winning the title over arch-rivals Boca.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
Published by Fernando Dias
