2015 Copa Sudamericana
The 2015 Copa Sudamericana was the 14th edition of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.
Colombian team Santa Fe qualified to play in the 2016 Copa Libertadores, the 2016 Recopa Sudamericana, and the 2016 Suruga Bank Championship, after winning the final against Argentinian team Huracán 3–1 on penalties. River Plate were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Huracán in the semifinals.
Teams
The following 47 teams from the 10 CONMEBOL associations qualified for the tournament:- Title holders
- Brazil: 8 berths
- Argentina: 6 berths
- All other associations: 4 berths each
- Round of 16: Title holders
- Second stage: 14 teams
- First stage: 32 teams
| Association | Team | Entry stage | Qualification method |
 Argentina6 + 1 berths | River Plate | Round of 16 | 2014 Copa Sudamericana champion |
| Argentina 6 + 1 berths | Huracán | Second stage | 2014 Supercopa Argentina champion |
| Argentina 6 + 1 berths | Lanús | Second stage | 2014 Torneo Transición best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores second stage |
| Argentina 6 + 1 berths | Independiente | Second stage | 2014 Torneo Transición 2nd best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores second stage |
| Argentina 6 + 1 berths | Tigre | Second stage | 2014 Torneo Transición 3rd best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores second stage |
| Argentina 6 + 1 berths | Arsenal | Second stage | 2014 Torneo Transición 4th best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores second stage |
| Argentina 6 + 1 berths | Belgrano | Second stage | 2014 Torneo Transición 5th best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores second stage |
 Bolivia4 berths | Real Potosí | First stage | 2014 Clausura 4th place |
| Bolivia 4 berths | Bolívar | First stage | 2014 Clausura 5th place |
| Bolivia 4 berths | Aurora | First stage | 2014 Clausura 6th place |
| Bolivia 4 berths | Oriente Petrolero | First stage | 2014 Clausura 7th place |
 Brazil8 berths | Atlético Paranaense | Second stage | 2014 Série A or 2014 Série B best team eliminated before 2015 Copa do Brasil [|round of 16] |
| Brazil 8 berths | Sport Recife | Second stage | 2014 Série A or 2014 Série B 2nd best team eliminated before 2015 Copa do Brasil round of 16 |
| Brazil 8 berths | Goiás | Second stage | 2014 Série A or 2014 Série B 3rd best team eliminated before 2015 Copa do Brasil round of 16 |
| Brazil 8 berths | Chapecoense | Second stage | 2014 Série A or 2014 Série B 4th best team eliminated before 2015 Copa do Brasil round of 16 |
| Brazil 8 berths | Joinville | Second stage | 2014 Série A or 2014 Série B 5th best team eliminated before 2015 Copa do Brasil round of 16 |
| Brazil 8 berths | Ponte Preta | Second stage | 2014 Série A or 2014 Série B 6th best team eliminated before 2015 Copa do Brasil round of 16 |
| Brazil 8 berths | Bahia | Second stage | 2015 Copa do Nordeste best team eliminated before 2015 Copa do Brasil round of 16 |
| Brazil 8 berths | Brasília | Second stage | 2014 Copa Verde champion |
 Chile4 berths | Universidad de Concepción | First stage | 2014–15 Copa Chile champion |
| Chile 4 berths | Huachipato | First stage | 2014–15 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores second stage |
| Chile 4 berths | Universidad Católica | First stage | 2015 Clausura Liguilla winner |
| Chile 4 berths | Santiago Wanderers | First stage | 2014 Apertura Liguilla runner-up |
 Colombia4 berths | Deportes Tolima | First stage | 2014 Copa Colombia champion |
| Colombia 4 berths | Santa Fe | First stage | 2015 Superliga Colombiana champion |
| Colombia 4 berths | Águilas Doradas | First stage | 2014 Primera A aggregate table best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores |
| Colombia 4 berths | Junior | First stage | 2014 Primera A aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores |
 Ecuador4 berths | Emelec | First stage | 2014 Serie A champion |
| Ecuador 4 berths | LDU Quito | First stage | 2014 Serie A aggregate table best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores |
| Ecuador 4 berths | LDU Loja | First stage | 2014 Serie A aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores |
| Ecuador 4 berths | Universidad Católica | First stage | 2014 Serie A aggregate table 3rd best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores |
 Paraguay4 berths | Libertad | First stage | 2014 Apertura champion and 2014 Clausura champion |
| Paraguay 4 berths | Sportivo Luqueño | First stage | 2014 Primera División aggregate table best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores |
| Paraguay 4 berths | Olimpia | First stage | 2014 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores |
| Paraguay 4 berths | Nacional | First stage | 2014 Primera División aggregate table 3rd best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores |
 Peru4 berths | Melgar | First stage | 2014 Descentralizado aggregate table best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores |
| Peru 4 berths | Unión Comercio | First stage | 2014 Descentralizado aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores |
| Peru 4 berths | Universitario | First stage | 2014 Descentralizado aggregate table 3rd best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores |
| Peru 4 berths | León de Huánuco | First stage | 2014 Descentralizado aggregate table 4th best team not qualified for 2015 Copa Libertadores |
 Uruguay4 berths | Nacional | First stage | 2014–15 Primera División champion |
| Uruguay 4 berths | Danubio | First stage | 2014–15 Primera División aggregate table best team not qualified for 2016 Copa Libertadores |
| Uruguay 4 berths | Defensor Sporting | First stage | 2014–15 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2016 Copa Libertadores |
| Uruguay 4 berths | Juventud | First stage | 2014–15 Primera División aggregate table 3rd best team not qualified for 2016 Copa Libertadores |
 Venezuela4 berths | Deportivo La Guaira | First stage | 2014 Copa Venezuela champion |
| Venezuela 4 berths | Deportivo Anzoátegui | First stage | 2014–15 Primera División aggregate table 2nd best team not qualified for 2016 Copa Libertadores |
| Venezuela 4 berths | Zamora | First stage | 2014–15 Primera División Serie Sudamericana winner with better record in aggregate table |
| Venezuela 4 berths | Carabobo | First stage | 2014–15 Primera División Serie Sudamericana winner with worse record in aggregate table |
Draw
The draw of the tournament was held on July 16, 2015 at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.For the first stage, the 32 teams were divided into two zones:
- South Zone: The 16 teams from Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay were drawn into eight ties.
- North Zone: The 16 teams from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela were drawn into eight ties.
For the second stage, the 30 teams, including the 16 winners of the first stage, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, and the 14 teams which entered the second stage, were divided into three sections:
- Winners of the first stage: The 16 winners of the first stage were drawn into eight ties, with the order of legs decided by draw. Teams from the same association could be drawn into the same tie.
- Brazil: The eight teams from Brazil were drawn into four ties. Teams which qualified for berths 1–4 were drawn against teams which qualified for berths 5–8, with the former hosting the second leg.
- Argentina: The six teams from Argentina were drawn into three ties. Teams which qualified for berths 1–3 were drawn against teams which qualified for berths 4–6, with the former hosting the second leg.
Schedule
| Stage | First leg | Second leg |
| First stage | August 12 | August 19 |
| Second stage | August 19, 26 | August 26 September 16 |
| Round of 16 | September 23 | September 30 |
| Quarterfinals | October 21 | October 28 |
| Semifinals | November 4 | November 25 |
| Finals | December 2 | December 9 |
;Notes
Elimination stages
In the elimination stages, 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, the penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner. The 15 winners of the second stage advanced to the round of 16 to join the defending champions.First stage
Second stage
Final stages
In the final stages, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the following rules:- Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the higher-seeded team hosting the second leg.
- In the round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would be used. If still tied, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner.
- In the finals, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would not be used, and 30 minutes of extra time would be played. If still tied after extra time, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner.
- If there were two semifinalists from the same association, they would have to play each other.