How To Watch Copa Libertadores In New Zealand (Live Games)

Copa Libertadores is one of the best international football tournaments taking place in South America each year, but coverage overseas is few and far between.

We’ll show you how to watch all Copa Libertadores games live and on demand.

Go to instructions.

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What is Copa do Brasil?

The Copa Libertadores is an international football competition taking place ever year in South America, where it has done so since 1960. It is organized by The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and is considered one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world, and arguably the most significant of the entire region.

Its name is in reference to the main leaders of the South American wars of independence in the late 18th and early 19th century, the word “libertadores” meaning “liberators” in both Spanish and Portuguese.

The tournament is particularly large, with 47 teams participating, composed of at least four different clubs from each country in the region.

In addition to the quantity of the teams competing, it is also a lengthy competition, beginning in January of each year with the finals not taking place until November.

watch copa Libertadores nz

Qualification Process

Qualification for the tournament varies from country to country, but typically is granted based on clubs who win a country’s respective domestic league in the Apertura and Clausura tournaments. It is common in Latin American sport, especially football, to split a season into two distinct tournaments (the Apertura and Clausura). Moreover, additional spots are also granted to the top finishers in the league.

The only countries that don’t use this format for qualification are Argentina, Brazil and Chile, who instead determine the qualified teams based on a European League Format, although, still grant one berth to the team that wins the tournaments.

Teams qualify in varying capacities, either being placed into the first, second or third stages of the tournament, whereas championship teams qualify directly into the group stages.

Tournament Stages

The first stage involves 12 clubs competing in a series of two-legged knockouts, then the 6 remaining teams are placed with 26 others into the second stage, who are all split into 4 groups of 8. A round robin is played, with each team playing the other twice at home and away.

The top two teams of each group by the end play each other in two-legged knockout ties, and the rest of the competition proceeds in this fashion up until the finals.

Each team is awarded prize money based on their finish in the league, with a minimum of $350,000 USD for teams eliminated in the first round, up to $12,000,000 USD for the champion.

Previous Tournaments

The most recent season to have concluded, at the time of writing, was the 2018 competition. It was won by Argentinian club River Plate, their fourth title in the league.

The final was played between River Plate and another Argentinian team, the Boca Juniors, the first leg on 11 November and the second on the 9th of December.

The final was referred to as the “final to end all finals” by pundits due to pre-existing domestic rivalries between the teams.

The first leg ended 2-2, and the hysteria of the final resulted in the second leg being delayed due to concerns over violence against the Boca Junior players.

The second leg was ultimately won 3-1 by River Plate.

How To Watch Copa Libertadores NZ

Unfortunately there’s limited coverage in NZ. You might be lucky to find a few games on Bein Sports.

Overseas, Youtube TV streams the matches but you must use a USA based VPN.

The best platform to watch the tournament is on a new streaming platform called Fanatiz.com which offers a 7 day free trial. You need to turn on a USA based VPN to access the Copa Libertadores matches but it’s definitely worth it.