Libertadores Final Goes Global: Can CONMEBOL Take South America’s Crown Worldwide?

A Global Plan for Libertadores' Grand Final

CONMEBOL is exploring the possibility of staging the Copa Libertadores final outside South America, a move designed to extend the competition's reach beyond its traditional base and grow its global footprint.

According to The Athletic, the continental federation is seriously weighing an abroad final for the first time in its history, part of broader efforts to expand the competition's appeal well beyond Latin America.

Since its 1960 inception, the Libertadores has stood as the strongest club competition in South America and is widely regarded as the region’s answer to Europe’s Champions League.

The current final is scheduled for November 29 at the Monumental stadium in Lima, Peru, between Palmeiras and Flamengo. The women’s final was held last month in Banfield, Argentina, where Corinthians defeated Deportivo Cali at Florencio Sola Stadium.

Juan Emilio Roa, CONMEBOL’s Chief Commercial Officer, said the topic is always on the table and discussed earnestly. “We’ve mapped a road for the coming years, but we’re still evaluating,” he stated.

Roa added that this is part of a broader push to grow the tournament’s profile by refining storytelling and the brand experience around the final, while also increasing content about the clubs and players involved.

Broadcasts, Partnerships, and the Road Ahead

The move comes after UEFA’s recent, reluctant, approval of permitting some European matches to be staged outside Europe. La Liga had even proposed a December Miami game between Villarreal and Barcelona before delaying the plan; the Italian league has floated a Milan-Como match in Perth next February.

Meanwhile, CONMEBOL is actively negotiating Latin American broadcast rights for Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana for 2027–2030 with a major global marketing agency, aiming to raise both reach and revenue.

Rights will be offered in seven bundles for Brazil and seven for the rest of the continent, with a closing date set for November 10, following a bidding window opened on September 30.

Evandro Figueira, Vice President of Rights in Latin America at the marketing group, noted that the number of interested traditional and digital platforms already exceeds expectations. The goal is to grow revenues beyond the roughly $1.5 billion earned in the previous rights cycle (2023–2026).

“We always seek genuine partners who don’t just buy rights and hoard them without broadcasting. Streaming and storytelling are essential because the partnership is what elevates the rights value in the future,” Figueira explained.

Roa also affirmed that this year’s Libertadores final will be broadcast in more than 190 countries, with a kickoff time adjusted to 9:00 PM Central European Time to better suit European audiences.

“We are pioneers in South America, and Libertadores already has a global presence with a wide audience, especially in the United States, Europe, and among Latin American communities and international football fans,” Roa added.

Figueira reiterated that while Libertadores is the continent’s flagship brand, ongoing work with international partners is essential to continued growth beyond the region’s borders.

He also explained that the distribution of broadcasts should avoid an exclusive lock with a single partner, contrasting with previous cycles that included partnerships with Disney/ESPN, Paramount, Globo, OneFootball, DirectTV, and Brazilian TV channels.

Roa concluded that interest has exceeded expectations, and a broad mix of traditional channels and streaming platforms has shown appetite for the product. He highlighted the strong influence of local networks such as KazTV in the region.

Ultimately, CONMEBOL aims to transform Libertadores into a global football product capable of competing with Europe’s top leagues in audience engagement and commercial value. The organization plans to deepen collaborations with production and digital media to deliver immersive fan experiences, including interactive content and narrative-focused coverage of the tournament’s stars.

There is also consideration of synchronizing fan events in European and American cities with the final, to heighten brand awareness and cement Libertadores’ presence in global markets, gradually turning the competition into a world-scale football event beyond South America.

In sum, CONMEBOL is pursuing a strategy to elevate the Libertadores brand into a global cultural phenomenon, while keeping the integrity and excitement the competition has always offered—except now with more frequent passport stamps for the trophy hunter in all of us.

Humor break: If the Libertadores goes global, my calendar will need a visa. Punchline 1: Finally, a tournament with as many frequent-flyer miles as my jokes. Punchline 2: May the final be so globally televised that even my mother’s WhatsApp group chat stops complaining about buffering.