The 2018 CONMEBOL Libertadores de Beach Soccer was the third edition of the Copa Libertadores de Beach Soccer (known natively in Spanish as the Copa Libertadores de Futbol 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. A total of 12 clubs took part.
Announced on 31 May, the tournament took place between 26 November and 2 December in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[1] It was organised by CONMEBOL in cooperation will local entities: the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and Brazil Beach Soccer Confederation (CBSB)[2] The event was originally due to take place in Belém, Pará State, Brazil[2] but a change of venue was announced on 23 October.[3]
Brazilians Vasco da Gama were the defending champions but finished as runners-up to fellow Brazilian club Vitória who claimed their first title.[4]
As per Regulations Article 15,[5] the tournament starts with a group stage, played in a round robin format. The winners, runners-up and two best third placed teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, in which the teams then compete in single-elimination matches, beginning with the quarter-finals and ending with the final. A third-place deciding match is also contested by the losing semi-finalists.
Unlike the two previous editions, there are no consolation matches to decide 5th to 12th place; these placements are instead decided statistically (Regulations Articles 22 & 23).[5]
Twelve teams qualified; each domestic league champion from the ten South American nations which are members of CONMEBOL, plus an additional club from the host country and the defending champions.[5]
1. Brazil entered three clubs: a. Vasco da Gama qualify as reigning champions, b. the Brazilian league champions, Sampaio Corrêa, c. the host country is also awarded an additional berth which went to the league runners-up, Vitória.[2]
The draw to split the twelve teams into three groups of four took place on 19 November at 19:00 local time in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation.[1][7] The draw was conducted based on Regulations Article 16 as follows:[5]
Initially, three teams were seeded and assigned to the head of the groups (Vasco da Gama automatically, the others via a draw):
to Group B: champions of the host association, Sampaio Corrêa
to Group C: club of the runner-up national association of the 2017 Copa Libertadores, Bella Vista
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 seeds placed in Pot 1 down to the lowest placed in Pot 3 (the additional Brazilian team was also placed in Pot 3). 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. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.
The match schedule was revealed on the day of the draw.[8]
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. The top two teams of each group, plus the two best ranked third-placed teams, advance to the quarter-finals. The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows (Regulations Article 21):[5]
points obtained in all group matches;
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above criterion, their rankings are determined as follows:
points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
Vitória (1st title)
Acassuso
Vasco da Gama
Bella Vista
La 25 Export
Náutico Puerta del Lago
Delfin Sporting
Hamacas
Academia Tito Drago
Code Iquique
Bella Vista
Monagas Dífalo
