The 2020 Copa Sudamericana first stage was played from 4 to 27 February 2020.[1] A total of 44 teams competed in the first stage to decide 22 of the 32 places in the second stage of the 2020 Copa Sudamericana.[2]
Draw
The draw for the first stage was held on 17 December 2019, 20:30 PYST (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.[3][4][5] For the first stage, the teams were divided into two pots according to their geographical zones:[6]
Pot A (South Zone): 22 teams from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay
Pot B (North Zone): 22 teams from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
The 44 teams were drawn into 22 ties (E1–E22) between a team from Pot A and a team from Pot B, with the teams from Pot B hosting the second leg in odd-numbered ties, and the teams from Pot A hosting the second leg in even-numbered ties. This distribution ensured that teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same tie.
BOL The identity of the teams Bolivia 1, Bolivia 2, Bolivia 3 and Bolivia 4 was not known at the time of the draw.
Format
In the first stage, each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If tied on aggregate, the away goals rule was used. If still tied, extra time was not played, and a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 2.4.2).[2]
^The El Nacional v Fénix match was originally scheduled for 19 February 2020, 19:30 local time, but was re-scheduled to 20 February 2020, 19:30 local time to avoid a clash with the first leg of the 2020 Recopa Sudamericana, which was scheduled on 19 February 2020.[11]