With Bahia classified, understand what the pre-Libertadores phase will be like

Bahia achieved the season’s objective and secured a place in next year’s Copa Libertadores. In 2025, the Squadron will enter the competition in the preliminary phase and will have to go through two knockouts to reach the group stage.

The pre-Libertadores phase is divided into three stages, all in a knockout format, which will be played between February and March. In the first, six teams face each other based on the seeding that is defined in a draw by Conmebol. The three classified advance to the second phase and join 13 other clubs. It is at this moment that the Brazilian, Argentine, Uruguayan and Colombian teams enter the dispute.

The crossover between the 16 clubs in the second phase is also defined in a draw. In this stage, teams from the same country can face each other. After this first knockout stage, Bahia will move on to the third phase, where they will play two more round-trip games. The Squad needs to win to guarantee a place in the groups.

The four classified in the third phase will be distributed into four groups, also previously defined in a draw. The four eliminated clubs will go to the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana.

Bahia’s debut in the pre-Libertadores will take place in the week of February 19th. The return game will be the following week, which has February 26th as the base date. After defining the clashes, Conmebol will detail the days and times of the matches.

This year, champion Botafogo began its journey in the pre-Libertadores phase. The black and white team got past Aurora, from Bolivia, in the second phase, and eliminated Red Bull Bragantino in a Brazilian clash in the third phase.