Buenos Aires, November 29 (NA) — With Barracas Central qualifying for the 2026 Copa Sudamericana, the club must meet one of the structural requirements established by CONMEBOL since 2019: have a women's football team registered and officially competing in tournaments recognized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA).
According to the Argentine News Agency, the regulation is part of the Club Licensing System that CONMEBOL implemented to raise development, infrastructure, and organization standards across the continent.
Among the mandatory points, the "Women's Football Development" section requires each participating institution in international competitions to have an active women's squad registered in leagues endorsed by its national association.
Currently, Barracas Central does not have a women's football team in any of the official categories of the AFA's women's football, so it must regularize this situation before submitting its license application for the 2026 season.
In addition to formal registration, the requirement includes presenting a technical, medical, and administrative structure, along with the women's team's competition schedule.
Recent cases, such as that of Patronato de Paraná, which had to create its women's branch after qualifying for the 2023 Copa Libertadores, set a precedent that CONMEBOL makes no exceptions: without a women's team in competition, the international license is not approved, and the club loses the right to play continental tournaments.
Barracas will need to initiate the process of establishing, registering, and fielding a women's team during the next competitive year to be in compliance for the final license review.
CONMEBOL typically closes administrative evaluations in the semester prior to the start of competitions, so the club will have a limited period to meet all requirements.
With qualification already secured for Argentina's spot in the 2026 Sudamericana, complying with this regulatory point has become a mandatory step for Barracas to compete in an international tournament for the first time in its history.
