2026 Copa de la Liga AUF
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Uruguay |
| Dates | 11–29 January 2026 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Progreso (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Boston River |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Goals scored | 29 (1.93 per match) |
The 2026 Copa de la Liga AUF was the first edition of the Copa de la Liga AUF, a football cup tournament for the 16 clubs participating in the Liga AUF Uruguaya, the top tier of Uruguayan football. Its creation was announced on 24 December 2025, and the tournament was played from 11 to 29 January 2026, prior to the start of the 2026 Liga AUF Uruguaya.[1][2]
Progreso were the champions, having defeated Boston River 2–1 in the final.[3]
Format
The competition was played under a single-elimination format, with the 16 participating teams being seeded for the first round according to their placement in the aggregate table of the previous Liga AUF Uruguaya season, and the promoted teams (Albion, Central Español, and Deportivo Maldonado) being the three lowest seeds, ordered according to their placement in the 2025 Segunda División. All rounds of the competition (round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final) were played over a single match on neutral ground, with the winner being decided in a penalty shootout if matches ended tied after 90 minutes.[1]
If the teams that qualified for the Supercopa Uruguaya also reached the final of this competition, both the Supercopa and the Copa de la Liga AUF would be awarded in the former competition.[4]
The winners of the competition were awarded US$100,000, to be exclusively spent on infrastructure projects.[5]
Schedule
The schedule for the competition was as follows:[6]
| Round | Dates |
|---|---|
| Round of 16 | 11–14 January 2026 |
| Quarter-finals | 17–19 January 2026 |
| Semi-finals | 22–23 January 2026 |
| Final | 29 January 2026 |
Venues
The competition was held at neutral venues both in Montevideo and in the interior of Uruguay, selected by the Uruguayan Football Association.[7]
| City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Montevideo | Parque Alfredo Víctor Viera | 11,000 |
| Luis Franzini | 16,000 | |
| Charrúa | 14,000 | |
| Parque Federico Omar Saroldi | 6,000 | |
| Parque Palermo | 6,500 | |
| Centenario | 60,235 | |
| Colonia del Sacramento | Juan Gaspar Prandi | 3,000 |
| Maldonado | Domingo Burgueño Miguel | 22,000 |
| Minas | Juan Antonio Lavalleja | 8,000 |
Bracket
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| Peñarol (p) | 0 (5) | ||||||||||||||
| Central Español | 0 (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Peñarol | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Racing | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Racing | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Cerro | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Peñarol | 2 (2) | ||||||||||||||
| Boston River (p) | 2 (4) | ||||||||||||||
| Boston River | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Danubio | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Boston River (p) | 1 (4) | ||||||||||||||
| Albion | 1 (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Liverpool | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Albion | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Boston River | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Progreso | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Nacional (p) | 0 (4) | ||||||||||||||
| Deportivo Maldonado | 0 (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Nacional (p) | 1 (5) | ||||||||||||||
| Cerro Largo | 1 (4) | ||||||||||||||
| Montevideo City Torque | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Cerro Largo | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Nacional | 1 (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Progreso (p) | 1 (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Juventud | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Montevideo Wanderers | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Juventud | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Progreso | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Defensor Sporting | 0 (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Progreso (p) | 0 (4) | ||||||||||||||
Round of 16
| 11 January 2026 | Juventud | 3–0 | Montevideo Wanderers | Montevideo |
| 19:00 UTC−3 |
|
Report | Stadium: Parque Federico Omar Saroldi Referee: Santiago Motta | |
| Note: Match originally scheduled for 10 January 2026, 21:30 local time, but rescheduled due to poor weather.[8] | ||||
| 11 January 2026 | Defensor Sporting | 0–0 (3–4 p) | Progreso | Colonia del Sacramento |
| 21:30 UTC−3 | Report | Stadium: Juan Gaspar Prandi Referee: Kevin Fontes | ||
| Penalties | ||||
|
||||
| 12 January 2026 | Boston River | 1–0 | Danubio | Montevideo |
| 19:00 UTC−3 |
|
Report | Stadium: Parque Alfredo Víctor Viera Referee: Pablo Silveira |
| 12 January 2026 | Peñarol | 0–0 (5–3 p) | Central Español | Minas |
| 21:30 UTC−3 | Report | Stadium: Juan Antonio Lavalleja Referee: Andrés Martínez | ||
| Penalties | ||||
|
||||
| 13 January 2026 | Liverpool | 0–2 | Albion | Montevideo |
| 19:00 UTC−3 | Report |
|
Stadium: Charrúa Referee: Juan Cianni |
| 13 January 2026 | Nacional | 0–0 (4–3 p) | Deportivo Maldonado | Montevideo |
| 21:30 UTC−3 | Report | Stadium: Gran Parque Central Referee: Augusto Olmos | ||
| Penalties | ||||
|
||||
| 14 January 2026 | Montevideo City Torque | 2–3 | Cerro Largo | Montevideo |
| 19:00 UTC−3 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Charrúa Referee: Rubén Umpiérrez |
| 14 January 2026 | Racing | 2–1 | Cerro | Montevideo |
| 21:30 UTC−3 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Parque Alfredo Víctor Viera Referee: Federico Arman |
Quarter-finals
| 17 January 2026 | Nacional | 1–1 (5–4 p) | Cerro Largo | Montevideo |
| 20:00 UTC−3 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Parque Federico Omar Saroldi Referee: Felipe Vikonis |
| Penalties | ||||
|
||||
| 18 January 2026 | Boston River | 1–1 (4–3 p) | Albion | Montevideo |
| 19:00 UTC−3 | Report |
|
Stadium: Parque Palermo Referee: Federico Modernell | |
| Penalties | ||||
|
||||
| 18 January 2026 | Juventud | 0–1 | Progreso | Montevideo |
| 21:30 UTC−3 | Report |
|
Stadium: Parque Federico Omar Saroldi Referee: Pablo Silveira |
| 19 January 2026 | Peñarol | 1–0 | Racing | Montevideo |
| 21:30 UTC−3 |
|
Report | Stadium: Parque Alfredo Víctor Viera Referee: Eduardo Varela |
Semi-finals
| 22 January 2026 | Nacional | 1–1 (1–3 p) | Progreso | Montevideo |
| 20:30 UTC−3 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Centenario Referee: Leandro Lasso |
| Penalties | ||||
|
||||
| 23 January 2026 | Peñarol | 2–2 (2–4 p) | Boston River | Montevideo |
| 20:30 UTC−3 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Parque Alfredo Víctor Viera Referee: Esteban Guerra |
| Penalties | ||||
|
||||
Final
| Boston River | 1–2 | Progreso |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
See also
References
- ^ a b "En enero se jugará la Copa de la Liga AUF" [The Copa de la Liga AUF will be played in January] (in Spanish). Uruguayan Football Association. 24 December 2025. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "¿Cuándo se jugará la final de la Copa de la Liga AUF? Día, horario y escenario" [When will the Copa de la Liga AUF final be played? Date, time and venue] (in Spanish). Montevideo Portal. 24 January 2026. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
- ^ "Copa de la Liga: Progreso derrotó 2-1 a Boston River en el Parque Viera y gritó campeón" [Copa de la Liga: Progreso defeated Boston River 2–1 at Parque Viera and shouted champion] (in Spanish). Montevideo Portal. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
- ^ "La Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol anunció la creación de la Copa de la Liga AUF" [The Uruguayan Football Association announced the creation of the Copa de la Liga AUF] (in Spanish). ESPN. 26 December 2025. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "Copa de la Liga AUF: mirá todos los detalles y qué sucede si Nacional y Peñarol juegan un clásico en la final" [Copa de la Liga AUF: check all the details and what happens if Nacional and Peñarol play a clásico in the final] (in Spanish). El Observador. 26 December 2025. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "Copa de la Liga AUF: el calendario y todos los detalles del campeonato local de verano" [Copa de la Liga AUF: the schedule and all the details of the domestic summer championship] (in Spanish). Montevideo Portal. 5 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
- ^ "Copa de la Liga AUF: el título oficial que se disputará ya tiene fechas, formato y premio económico confirmado" [Copa de la Liga AUF: the official title to be contested already has dates, format and confirmed economic prize] (in Spanish). El País. 26 December 2025. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "Se suspendió el primer partido de la Copa de la Liga AUF por lluvias. ¿Cuándo se jugará?" [The Copa de la Liga AUF's first match was suspended due to rain. When will it be played?] (in Spanish). Montevideo Portal. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.