The Copa Libertadores 2026 will officially kick off this Tuesday with the start of Phase 1, the preliminary stage of the tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Following last year's draw, the matchups, dates, and times for the matches that will open the path to the group stage have been defined, as reported by the Argentine News Agency. The first match of this stage will be on Tuesday, February 3rd, when The Strongest hosts Deportivo Táchira at 21:30 (Argentine time) in the corresponding E1 series. The winner will advance to Phase 2 and join the teams already awaiting in the next round. Phase 1 consists of three playoff ties. Subsequently, Phase 2 will feature eight series, and Phase 3 will have four more ties, whose winners will advance to the group stage of the 2026 Libertadores as members of pot 4 in the main draw. Meanwhile, the four teams that lose in Phase 3 will be transferred to the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana, also as part of pot 4. Activity in this first instance will continue on Wednesday, when 2 de Mayo faces Alianza Lima, while on Thursday it will be the turn of Juventud de Las Piedras against Universidad Católica. All countries have two representatives in the preliminary stages, with the exception of Argentina, which has no teams starting from this instance. Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela are the federations that will have clubs competing in Phase 1, a start that marks the first step towards Eternal Glory and a new edition of the Copa Libertadores.
