Teams for Súper Liga Americana

Teams for the Súper Liga Americana have been revealed. Lisandro Olearo has confirmed that six teams will compete in the competition, each being from a different country. The teams are to be Los Ceibos (Argentina), Corinthians (Brazil), Selknam (Chile), Cafeteros (Colombia), Olimpia (Paraguay), and Peñarol (Uruguay).

The competition is to bring a professional rugby league to South America for the first time. It follows the addition of Los Jaguares to Super Rugby and initiatives during the RWC 2015-2019 cycle including the Americas Rugby Championship, Americas Rugby Challenge, and the Sudamérica 6 Naciones A.

In North America the creation of Major League Rugby (MLR) brought benefits to South America. This saw players from the region contracted to play in either the Toronto Arrows or one of the USA teams. It also brought new interest to the sport within the countries by lifting the profile.

The Súper Liga Americana de Rugby will be a South American version of the MLR. The teams are to be a mixture of clubs and franchises.

The team names represent identities for the respective competitors. Los Ceibos is a tribute to Argentina’s national flower; Selkham is a pre-Columbian ethnic group; Cafeteros is an association with the coffee growing region of Medellín; while Corinthians, Olímpia, and Peñarol are professional soccer clubs.

The original plan for the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby was for it to be an eight team competition. Brazil and Uruguay were each to have two teams and Argentina was, at one point, expected to field four. Financial constraints and uncertainties have seen the competition set to debut as a six team league, albeit one with more countries than initially expected.

The competition will run with five teams competing against each other on a home-and-away basis. The top four teams from the eight regular season rounds will compete in the Semi Finals.

Colombia’s side, Los Cafeteros will not compete during the regular season in 2020. Instead the team ill play against the team that finishes 5th during the regular season in a match to determine the 5th placed finisher overall.

The Súper Liga Americana de Rugby will begin on February 28, 2020.