Buenos Aires, March 4 (NA) – The Executive Committee of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) decided this Wednesday that the ninth-placed team in the annual table will qualify for the preliminary stage of the Copa Libertadores and take the spot previously held by the third-placed team, which will now go to the Copa Sudamericana. According to information from the Argentine News Agency, the decision was made in light of the recent defeats of Argentine teams in the preliminary stage of the Copa Libertadores, mainly that of Argentinos Juniors against Barcelona of Ecuador a week ago, after qualifying as third in the annual table. The record of Argentine teams in the preliminary stage of the main continental competition is discouraging, as since 2019, only one has passed this stage: Estudiantes de La Plata in 2022, who were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Athletico Paranaense of Brazil. With this measure, the third-placed team in the annual table will now play in the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana, while the ninth-placed team will contest the preliminary stage of the Copa Libertadores. Thus, the main continental tournament will be contested by the champions of the Apertura, Clausura, and Argentine Cup tournaments, in addition to the first, second, and ninth-placed teams in the annual table. Meanwhile, the Copa Sudamericana will be played by teams finishing from third to eighth in the annual table.
