Where do Unión and Colón stand in the CONMEBOL rankings? | OneFootball

Conmebol released the club ranking, featuring Colón and Unión, to determine the draw pots for the Libertadores and Sudamericana.

Although neither will compete in continental tournaments in 2026, Colón and Unión appear in the official club ranking published by Conmebol for the formation of the pots for the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. The Sabalero is ranked 65th, while the Tatengue is in 91st place, a fact that puts Santa Fe back on the statistical map of South American football, even from very different realities.

The list, released this Tuesday by the governing body of continental football, will be the tool used to organize teams in the draws for the next international season. Beyond having no direct impact for the Santa Fe clubs in 2026, the ranking serves as a historical and sporting thermometer that measures trajectories, performances, and institutional weight.

Colón, better positioned from the Primera Nacional

The case of Colón is particular: it occupies the 65th position in the Conmebol ranking despite currently playing in the Primera Nacional. The position reflects the impact that its recent international participations still hold, with significant weight from the 2019 Copa Sudamericana, where it reached the final, in addition to other continental presences in the last decade.

This journey allows the Sabalero to remain above numerous clubs that today compete in the First Division, a clear signal that recent history still supports its regional positioning, even when the current sports situation finds it outside the local elite.

Unión and a ranking that exposes the challenge

Unión, meanwhile, appears in the 91st position of the ranking. The Tatengue pays in the table for the irregularity of its international participations and the lack of deep runs in Conmebol tournaments, despite having achieved qualifications in recent years. The fact is not surprising, but it does mark the path to follow if the club aspires to consolidate itself with greater weight on the continental stage.

The difference between the two Santa Fe clubs in the ranking also serves as an x-ray of their recent trajectories outside the country, even though they both currently share an absence in the international calendar.

A ranking with strong changes at the top

At the top of the table, the ranking showed significant movements. Palmeiras now leads the classification, followed by Flamengo, after the continental final that pitted them against each other and crowned Mengao. River fell from first to third place, while Boca, absent in the last Libertadores, dropped to fourth place, although it will continue to be a top seed when it competes.

Racing celebrated its entry into the top 10 after climbing to ninth place, driven by its campaign in the Libertadores and the Sudamericana 2024 title. Estudiantes is 18th, Lanús 21st, and Vélez 26th, with six Argentine clubs within the top 30, against a marked Brazilian supremacy, which contributes twelve teams to that group.

The criteria explaining the positions

Conmebol detailed that the ranking is based on three axes: performance in international competitions over the last ten years, historical weight in continental tournaments, and additional recognition for league titles obtained in each country. Under these parameters, Colón and Unión appear in the list, even without international presence in 2026.

For both, the data does not change the short term, but it does leave a clear reading: the name continues to appear, although the challenge is to do so again from the field and not just from statistics.

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