- Source: 2022 Copa Libertadores de Beach Soccer
The 2022 CONMEBOL Libertadores of Beach Soccer was the fifth edition of the Copa Libertadores of Beach Soccer (known natively in Spanish as the Copa Libertadores de Fútbol Playa), an annual continental beach soccer club tournament contested primarily between the champions of the domestic leagues of South American nations who are members of CONMEBOL.
The tournament took place in Iquique, Chile, between 18 and 25 June 2023, and was organised by CONMEBOL in cooperation with the host association, the Football Federation of Chile (FFC). It was the first edition of the Copa Libertadores to take place since 2019, after both the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South America; this edition itself was also delayed due to the pandemic, originally scheduled for 26 November to 4 December 2022, then 7 to 14 May 2023, and finally the actual dates the tournament took place.
Brazilians Vasco da Gama were the defending champions but were eliminated at the quarter-finals stage, ultimately finishing fifth. The title was won by Paraguayan club Presidente Hayes, who claimed their first title, also becoming the first non-Brazilian club to win the championship.
Format
As per Regulations Article 15, the competition format consists of two phases: the Preliminary phase (Group phase) and the Final phase.
Teams
Twelve teams qualified to take part; each of the domestic league champions (or champions of specific Copa Libertadores qualification tournaments) from the ten South American nations which are members of CONMEBOL, plus an additional club from the host country and the defending champions.
Venue
All matches took place at one venue in the city of Iquique, Chile: Arena Cavancha on Cavancha Beach, with a capacity of 1,542.
Squads
Each team had to submit a squad of 12 players, including a minimum of two goalkeepers (Regulations Article 46).
Draw
The draw to split the twelve teams into three groups of four took place on 8 May 2023 at 12:00 PYT (UTC–3) in Luque, Paraguay at the headquarters of CONMEBOL. The draw was conducted based on Regulations Article 17 as follows:
Initially, three teams were seeded and assigned to the head of the groups (Vasco da Gama automatically to Group A, the others via a draw from pot 1):
To Group A: as reigning champions, Vasco da Gama
To Group B: as the club of the runner-up national association of the 2019 Copa Libertadores, Sampaio Corrêa
To Group C: as champions of the host association, Alto Hospicio
The remaining nine teams were split into three pots of three based on the final placement of their national association's club in the previous edition of the championship, with the highest three (Paraguay, Argentina and Venezuela) placed in Pot 2, the next three (Colombia, Bolivia and Peru) placed in Pot 3 and the lowest two (Uruguay and Ecuador) in Pot 4, alongside the additional Chilean club. From each pot, the first team drawn was placed into Group A, the second team drawn placed into Group B and the final team drawn placed into Group C. Clubs from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.
The composition of the Pots was as follows:
The draw resulted in the following groups:
Referees
20 officials were summoned to referee the tournament, representing all CONMEBOL members save for Paraguay. They were announced on 15 June.
Group stage
Each team earns three points for a win in regulation time, two points for a win in extra time, one point for a win in a penalty shoot-out, and no points for a defeat (Regulations Article 23).
The designation of "home" and "away" teams displayed in the results matrices is for administrative purposes only.
Matches took place from 18 to 20 June.
Tie-breakers
If two or more teams are equal on points, their rankings are determined as follows (Regulations Article 24):
Key
= Group A
== Group B
== Group C
=9th–12th place play-offs
Per the results of the group stage, the worst third-placed team plays the best-fourth placed team for 9th place; the second best fourth-placed team plays the worst fourth-placed team for 11th place.
Knockout stage
Per the results of the group stage, the top two teams of each group, plus the two best ranked third-placed teams, advance to the quarter-finals. At each stage, the losing teams recede to play in consolatory classification matches to determine their final placement. 21 June was a rest day.
Final standings
See also
2022 Copa Libertadores de Futsal
2022 Euro Winners Cup
References
External links
CONMEBOL Libertadores de Fútbol Playa, at CONMEBOL.com (in Spanish)