The 2024 Copa Uruguay (officially known as Copa AUF Uruguay 2024), was the third edition of the Copa Uruguay, the country's national football cup tournament. The tournament began on 10 August 2024 with 58 teams participating and ended on 6 December 2024.
The defending champions Defensor Sporting won their third Copa Uruguay title in this edition of the competition, defeating Nacional on penalty kicks following a 2–2 draw in the final.[1]
Format changes
Starting from this season, the competition was trimmed down to 32 participating teams due to financial and scheduling concerns, considering that the previous year's competition had to be extended to April 2024. The competition was divided into a preliminary stage and five rounds in the competition proper, with ties in all stages played over a single match. 35 clubs from the Organización del Fútbol del Interior (OFI) entered a two-round preliminary stage in which they were drawn into four zones. The two winners from each zone as well as the winner of an additional interzonal match qualified for the competition proper.[2]
The Copa Uruguay proper would be played by 32 teams: the 9 winners from the preliminary phase would be joined in the round of 32 by 10 teams from the Uruguayan Primera División, 6 from Segunda División, 4 from Primera División Amateur, 2 from Divisional D and 18 de Julio from Río Negro, the 2023 OFI Serie B champions, in a straight knockout competition. The amateur clubs from the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) and OFI played their round of 32 match at home. From this point onwards, the winners played against each other in single-legged knockout phases, with the semi-finals and the final played on neutral ground.[3]
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows:
Round
Draw date
Dates
Preliminary stage
2 August 2024[2]
10–18 August 2024
Round of 32
21 August 2024[3]
11 September – 10 October 2024
Round of 16
8–25 October 2024
Quarter-finals
29–31 October 2024
Semi-finals
22 November 2024
Finals
6 December 2024
Qualified teams
Although 32 clubs would take part in the proper Copa Uruguay competition for this season, a total of 58 clubs were slated to enter the competition: 10 from Primera División, 6 from Segunda División, 4 from Primera División Amateur, and 2 from Divisional D, which were chosen based on their performance at halfway point in their respective seasons.[4] The remaining 36 clubs were the ones participating in the Copa Nacional de Clubes organized by the Organización del Fútbol del Interior (OFI), which were trimmed down to 10 after a preliminary stage.
On 4 September 2024, 11 of the 16 Primera División clubs voted to request to the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) the immediate suspension of the competition, in protest of the format changes implemented for this season.[5] Five days later, seven clubs (Cerro, Cerro Largo, Danubio, Defensor Sporting, Montevideo Wanderers, Peñarol, and Progreso) sent a letter announcing their unwillingness to play the competition,[6] with the AUF confirming the elimination of Peñarol, Danubio, and Cerro the following day.[7] Although Defensor Sporting was among the clubs that signed the letter, they later backtracked and confirmed that they would take part in the competition.[8]
In the preliminary stage, the 35 participating clubs were split in four geographical zones (North, South, East, and Litoral), with one team from the South and East zones playing an interzonal match in the second round.
^"Copa AUF Uruguay: Defensor Sporting venció a Nacional en los penales y es tricampeón" [Copa AUF Uruguay: Defensor Sporting beat Nacional on penalties and are three-time champions] (in Spanish). FútbolUy. 6 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
^ a b"Copa AUF Uruguay 2024: qué cambios habrá, cuántos clubes la jugarán, cuándo arrancará y qué premios otorgará" [2024 Copa AUF Uruguay: what changes will there be, how many clubs will play it, when will it start and what awards will it grant] (in Spanish). El País. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
^ a b"La tercera edición de la Copa AUF Uruguay ya está en juego" [The third Copa AUF Uruguay edition is already in play] (in Spanish). AUF. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
^"Vuelve la Copa AUF Uruguay: detalles del novedoso formato elegido y fechas tentativas" [The Copa AUF Uruguay is back: details of the new format chosen and tentative dates] (in Spanish). FútbolUy. 10 August 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
^"Clubes exhortaron a suspender la Copa Uruguay y citan al Comité Ejecutivo de la AUF" [Clubs urged to suspend the Copa Uruguay and summon the AUF's Executive Committee] (in Spanish). FútbolUy. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
^"Siete clubes reafirmaron su postura de no jugar la Copa Uruguay: "Exigimos transparencia"" [Seven clubs confirmed their stance to not play the Copa Uruguay: "We demand transparency"] (in Spanish). FútbolUy. 9 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
^ a b c d"Copa AUF Uruguay: Peñarol, Danubio y Cerro quedaron eliminados y tendrán consecuencias reglamentarias" [Copa AUF Uruguay: Peñarol, Danubio and Cerro were eliminated and will have regulatory consequences] (in Spanish). El Observador. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
^"Copa AUF Uruguay: "Defensor siempre tuvo decidido participar", dijo vicepresidente violeta" [Copa AUF Uruguay: "Defensor always had decided to participate", violet vice-chairman said] (in Spanish). FútbolUy. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
