ASUNCION: South American football confederation has finally moved into line with Europe and decided that the final of its flagship club tournament should be played as a one-off final writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

Until now the final of the Copa Libertadores has always been played over two legs, ever since the competition’s launch in 1960.

Santiago’s Estadio Nacional in Chile will host the first single-match final in November next year.

The final of the secondary competition, the Copa Sudamericana, will also be played in a single match with the first such showdown being staged next year at the Estadio Nacional in Lima as a consolation for missing out on the main match.

Uruguay had also proposed the historic Estadio Centenario in Montevideo but withdrew amid scandal-linked confusion within the national football federation.

To compensate clubs for the loss of home gate money, CONMEBOL said each finalist will be given 25pc of ticketing revenue from the match.

A CONMEBOL statement said: “The election of both venues of these great parties of South American football took place after the rigorous study of criteria, mechanisms, selection processes, taking into account parameters related to: organization, logistics, security, technology, political, social, environmental and legal, lodging, mobility and commercial matters such as television transmission and commercialization of these great events.”

###################