After the draw held on Thursday night at the Conmebol Convention Center in Luque, Paraguay, the competition bracket for the Copa Sudamericana in its early stages was defined.
Santa Fe will face Liga de Loja (ECU), Tolima will rival Carabobo (VEN), Junior will face Melgar (PER) and Águilas Doradas will clash against Unión Comercio (PER), in the round of 32 that brings together the 16 qualifiers from Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
The four clubs from the FPC will seek, in home and away matches, the passage to the second round, where the competition will begin for the eight Brazilian teams and the six Argentine ones.
In the opening speech, the president of Conmebol, Juan Ángel Napout, confirmed that from this edition the refereeing teams will be neutral and referees from the same country will not be appointed in case teams from the same federation face each other.
The tournament will be played between Tuesday, August 11th, and Wednesday, December 9th, 2015.
FIRST PHASE - NORTH ZONE
Carabobo (VEN) vs. Tolima (COL)
U. Católica (ECU) vs. Deportivo La Guaira (VEN)
León de Huánuco (PER) vs. Emelec (ECU)
Junior (COL) vs. Melgar (PER)
Universitario (PER) vs. Deportivo Anzoátegui (VEN)
Zamora (VEN) vs. Liga de Quito (ECU)
Águilas Doradas (COL) vs. Unión Comercio (PER)
Liga de Loja (ECU) vs. Santa Fe (COL)
Note 1: The teams listed first start the series at home
Note 2: The 8 winners of the matches advance to the second phase
FIRST PHASE - SOUTH ZONE
Juventud (URU) vs. Real Potosí (BOL)
Oriente Petrolero (BOL) vs. Nacional (URU)
Santiago Wanderers (CHI) vs. Libertad (PAR)
Nacional (PAR) vs. U. Concepción (CHI)
Defensor Sporting (URU) vs. Bolívar (BOL)
U. Católica (CHI) vs. Danubio (URU)
Olimpia (PAR) vs. Huachipato (CHI)
Aurora (BOL) vs. Sportivo Luqueño (PAR)
Note 1: The teams listed first start the series at home
Note 2: The 8 winners of the matches advance to the second phase of the north-south zone
SECOND PHASE NORTH-SOUTH ZONE
-The winner of the Tolima-Carabobo match will face the winner of the Junior-Melgar match
-The winner of the Santa Fe-Liga de Loja match will face the winner of the Oriente Petrolero-Nacional match
-The winner of the Águilas Doradas-Unión Comercio match will face the winner of the Olimpia-Huachipato match.
The other matches
Winner Zamora-Liga de Quito vs. Winner Nacional (PAR)-U. Concepción
Winner U. Católica (CHI)-Danubio vs. Winner Wanderers-Libertad
Winner Defensor-Bolívar vs. Winner Universitario-Anzoátegui
Winner León de Huánuco-Emelec vs. Winner Juventud-Potosí
Winner U. Católica (ECU)-La Guaira vs. Winner Aurora-Luqueño
SECOND PHASE - ARGENTINE ZONE
Belgrano vs. Lanús
Arsenal vs. Independiente
Tigre vs. Huracán
Note 1: The teams listed first start the series at home
Note 2: The 3 winners of the matches advance to the round of 16
SECOND PHASE - BRAZILIAN ZONE
Brasil 8 vs. Brasil 3
Brasil 7 vs. Brasil 2
Brasil 6 vs. Brasil 4
Brasil 5 vs. Brasil 1
Note 1: The teams listed first start the series at home
Note 2: The 4 winners of the matches advance to the round of 16
ROUND OF 16
This phase (16 teams) will be made up of the eight clubs qualified from the north-south zone, four Brazilians, three Argentines, and River Plate, who will directly enter this round as the current champion.