Malaspina: We fixed it, new Copa qualification format explained | OneFootball

On Wednesday night, news broke that the format for qualifying to international cups in Argentine football will change, sparking strong controversy. Starting in 2027, the third place in the annual table will no longer earn a spot in the playoffs for the Copa Libertadores, but will instead qualify directly for the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana, while the preliminary phase of the top continental tournament will go to the ninth best-placed team.

Cristian Malaspina, president of Argentinos Juniors and Secretary General of the Argentine Football Association, appeared on TyC Sports and explained the reason behind this decision. “It’s a change for the upcoming tournament that was approved at the last Executive Committee meeting of the League. I don’t understand what the commotion is about because everything is clear,” he began.

“It was a unanimous approval among all those present to apply to the next tournament, fixing something we felt was wrong, which is that the third or fourth in the general table, who are the ones who earned the most points in the year, had to take a position that doesn’t guarantee anything, because if you lose the first phase you’re left without international cups,” he continued later.

Later, he clarified that “the last team to qualify for a cup will actually qualify for that position, and if they get through the first phase, they go to the Sudamericana, and if they get through the second, they go to the Libertadores.” In this way, they consider that “it’s much fairer, the good news that a team can have access to the Libertadores after passing two phases, than the injustice of a team, which was one of the top performers, being left without international cups after losing a single match or phase.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.