2016 Copa Sudamericana

2016 Copa Sudamericana
Tournament details
Dates9 August – 24 November 2016
(Finals, scheduled for 30 November and 7 December, suspended on 29 November;
title awarded on 5 December)
Teams47 (from 10 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsBrazil Chapecoense (awarded) (1st title)
Runners-upColombia Atlético Nacional
Tournament statistics
Matches played90
Goals scored181 (2.01 per match)
Top scorer(s)Colombia Miguel Borja
Paraguay Cecilio Domínguez
(6 goals each)
← 2015
2017 →

The 2016 Copa Sudamericana (Portuguese: Copa Sul-Americana 2016) was the 15th edition of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.

The finals were originally to be played between Brazilian team Chapecoense and Colombian team Atlético Nacional. However, on 28 November 2016, LaMia Flight 2933, which was carrying the Chapecoense squad to the first leg, crashed on the way to the José María Córdova International Airport.[1][2] There were 71 fatalities, including 19 of the 22 Chapecoense players on the plane.[3] CONMEBOL immediately suspended all activities, including the scheduled final matches, in the early morning of 29 November.[4] In light of these events, Atlético Nacional requested that CONMEBOL award the title to Chapecoense.[5] As requested, CONMEBOL awarded Chapecoense the title of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana, their first continental title, on 5 December,[6] while Atlético Nacional received the "CONMEBOL Centenario Fair Play" award for their gesture.[7][8]

As winners of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana, Chapecoense earned the right to play against the winners of the 2016 Copa Libertadores in the 2017 Recopa Sudamericana, and the winners of the 2016 J.League Cup in the 2017 Suruga Bank Championship.[9] They also automatically qualified for the 2017 Copa Libertadores group stage. Santa Fe were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Cerro Porteño in the Round of 16.

  1. ^ Weaver, Matthew; Walker, Bonnie. "Brazilian football team Chapecoense on plane that crashed in Colombia". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  2. ^ "76 confirmed dead in Colombian plane crash". Cable News Network. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  3. ^ "Chapecoense plane crash: The victims, the survivors and those left behind". BBC. 1 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Comunicado a la opinión pública" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 29 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Campeón de la Sudamericana" (in Spanish). Atlético Nacional de Medellín. Archived from the original on 2017-01-29. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Chape é declarada campeã e garante ao menos US$ 4,8 mi em premiações" (in Portuguese). globo.com. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  7. ^ "CONMEBOL otorga el título de Campeón de la Sudamericana 2016 a Chapecoense y reconoce a Atlético Nacional con el premio del Centenario de la Conmebol al Fair Play" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com. 5 December 2016. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Chapecoense named Copa Sudamericana winners after plane crash". Guardian. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Copa Sudamericana 2016 – Reglamento" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL.com.