The 2026 Copa Uruguay (officially known as Copa AUF Uruguay 2026), is the fifth edition of the Copa Uruguay, the country's national football cup tournament. The tournament is played from 25 August to December 2026 with 44 teams participating. The winners will qualify for the 2027 Copa Libertadores.
Peñarol are the defending champions.
Format For this season, the competition features a change of format while also expanding to 44 teams: all 16 teams from Liga AUF Uruguaya, 8 from Segunda División, 8 from Primera División Amateur, 2 from Divisional D and 10 clubs from the Copa Nacional de Clubes organized by the Organización del Fútbol del Interior (OFI).
The first stage, which was contested by 32 clubs, was split into two paths: one for professional clubs and another one for amateur clubs. In the professional side, the 24 clubs from the first and second tier leagues were drawn into six groups of four teams in which teams played their group rivals once, with the top two teams in each group as well as the four best third-placed sides advancing to the next round, whilst the amateur path had the eight Primera División Amateur clubs, which were drawn into four single-match ties, with the winners advancing to the next round.
For the second stage, the professional and amateur paths will remain separated, with the Divisional D and OFI clubs joining the four amateur winners from the previous round. In both paths, the 16 participating clubs will be drawn into eight single-match ties, with the winners advancing to the round of 16. Starting from that round, the professional and amateur teams will be able to play each other, playing a straight knockout competition, and amateur sides will be granted home advantage. The semi-finals and the final will be played on neutral ground.
The winners of the competition will qualify for the 2027 Copa Libertadores through the Uruguay 4 berth, granting them access to the first stage of the continental competition, provided that they play in the top tier in 2027. If the champions do not fulfill this criterion, or have already qualified for the Copa Libertadores through league performance, the berth will be awarded to the best-placed team in the aggregate table of the 2026 Liga AUF Uruguaya that has not yet qualified.
Schedule The schedule of the competition is as follows:
Round Draw date Dates Eliminatory stage 11 August 2026 Second stage Round of 16 TBD 2026 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
Qualified teams 44 clubs take part in this season's Copa Uruguay competition: the 16 from Liga AUF Uruguaya and 8 from Segunda División which were the top clubs in the league based on their performance at halfway point, for a total of 24 professional clubs. The competition will also feature 20 amateur teams, those being eight from Primera División Amateur, the top two clubs that failed to promote in the previous Divisional D season, and 10 from the Copa Nacional de Clubes organized by the Organización del Fútbol del Interior (OFI), which were the eight clubs that qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2026 Divisional A tournament as well as two play-off winners.
Liga AUF UruguayaAll 16 teams Segunda DivisiónThe top 8 teams of the 2026 season at halfway point Primera División AmateurThe top 4 teams of the 2026 Torneo Inicial and the best 4 teams that did not promote in the 2025 season Divisional DThe runner-up and third-placed team of the 2025 season OFI8 quarter-finalists and 2 play-off winners of the 2026 Divisional A season Albion Boston River Central Español Cerro Cerro Largo Danubio Defensor Sporting Deportivo Maldonado Juventud Liverpool Montevideo City Torque Montevideo Wanderers Nacional Peñarol Progreso Racing Atenas Cerrito Colón Fénix Oriental Plaza Colonia Rentistas River Plate Bella Vista Deportivo Colonia Deportivo Italiano Deutscher Durazno Lito Rampla Juniors Terremoto Real Montevideo Rincón Ferro Carril Gladiador Libertad Nacional (Florida) Porongos Racing (Durazno) Río Negro San Carlos Sportivo Barracas Wanderers (Durazno)
Eliminatory stage The first stage, named eliminatory stage, was split into two paths: one for professional clubs and another one for amateur sides. The professional clubs were drawn into six groups of four, with the top two teams of each group as well as the four best third-placed sides advancing to the second stage, while in the amateur path the eight Primera División Amateur teams were drawn into four ties, with the winners advancing to the following round of the competition.
Professional path Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Ranking of third-placed teams The four best teams among those ranked third in their groups advanced to the second stage.
Amateur path
Second stage Professional path The 16 qualified teams from the eliminatory stage were seeded into two pots, with Pot 1 featuring the six group winners and the best two group runners-up, who will have home advantage for their match in this round, while the remaining teams were seeded in Pot 2. The draw for the professional path matches was held on 30 September 2026.
Amateur path The four winners from the previous round were joined by two Divisional D teams and 10 OFI sides in this round. The draw for the amateur path was held on 11 September 2026.
See also 2026 Liga AUF Uruguaya 2026 Uruguayan Segunda División season
References