November 24 – On January 30, South America will crown a new club champion with the final of the Copa Libertadores now confirmed for Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium.
This week the Copa Libertadores, South America’s equivalent of the Champions League, enters the knock-out phase with 16 clubs still in contention for the region’s most prestigious title. Defending champions Flamengo travel to Racing in Argentina for their first international game under new coach Rogerio Ceni.
The Brazilian champions will be hoping they can reach the final at their home ground. Earlier this month, Conmebol had already indicated that it had picked January 30 as the new date for the Copa Libertadores final and the South American governing body confirmed both the date and venue on Tuesday via social media, without releasing any further details.
Rio’s Maracana had been due to stage the final on November 21, but due to the coronavirus pandemic Conmebol had to push back the final as well as the rest of the competition. Cordoba in Argentina will host the final of the Copa Sul-Americana, the South American equivalent of the Europa League.
The winner of the Copa Libertadores will represent the continent at the Club World Cup in Qatar. Last week, FIFA announced that the tournament is set start February 1 with the final on February 11.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1734930187labto1734930187ofdlr1734930187owedi1734930187sni@o1734930187fni1734930187