The competition will begin on 4 March and is scheduled to end on 22 November 2025, with the final to be played at Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.

The following 44 teams from the 10 CONMEBOL associations qualified for the tournament: The entry stage is determined as follows:[3] A further 12 teams eliminated from the 2025 Copa Libertadores will be transferred to the Copa Sudamericana, entering the group stage and the knockout round play-offs.

The schedule of the competition will be as follows:[13] The draw for the first stage was held on 19 December 2024, 12:00 PYT (UTC−3), at the CONMEBOL Convention Centre in Luque, Paraguay.

[17] In the first stage, each tie will be played on a single-leg basis, with the winner being decided in a penalty shoot-out in case of a draw after 90 minutes.

The following 32 teams will be involved in the group stage (CONMEBOL Clubs ranking as of 16 December 2024 shown in parentheses):[19]