This marked the first year the competition was sponsored by Spanish bank Santander.

As such, the competition is officially the 2008 Copa Santander Libertadores de América for sponsorship reasons.

[3] Ecuadorian club LDU Quito won the competition for the first time in a final decided on penalties.

LDU Quito earned a berth in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup and 2009 Recopa Sudamericana.

Therefore, they sent their cup champion and the best four of the Brazilian Serie A. Ecuador sent the top three finishers of their national tournament as determined by the Liguilla Final.

Teams at every stage of the tournament will be awarded points depending on the result of a game: 3 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss.

The following criteria will be used for breaking ties on points: For the first stage, round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals, the fourth criterion is replaced by a penalty shoot-out if necessary.