The 2022 Copa Ecuador (officially known as the Copa Ecuador Ecuabet 2022 for sponsorship purposes)[1] was the third edition of the Copa Ecuador, Ecuador's domestic football cup. It began on 6 May 2022 and ended with the single-legged final on 8 November 2022.
Independiente del Valle won their first title in the competition, defeating 9 de Octubre in the final by a 3–1 score.[2]LDU Quito were the defending champions, having won the previous edition of the competition in 2019, but were knocked out by Imbabura in the round of 16.
Format
The competition involved 48 teams and was divided into six rounds. The first round was played by the 10 Serie B teams, the 20 provincial association champions, and the amateur champion and runner-up teams, which were drawn into 16 double-legged ties. The 16 winners advanced to the round of 32, where they were drawn against the 16 Serie A teams in single-legged ties with the lower-tier side hosting the match.
The round of 16 and the quarter-finals were also played as single-legged ties by the winners of the preceding rounds, whilst the four quarter-final winners played a semi-final group stage with each team playing the others in the group twice. The top two teams in the semi-final group advanced to the final.[3][4]
Prizes
The champions of this edition qualified for the 2023 Supercopa Ecuador and would also earn the right to compete in the 2023 Copa Libertadores, taking the Ecuador 4 berth in that competition.[5] In case the champions qualified for the Copa Libertadores through their league or international performance, the berth would be transferred to the runners-up, the semi-finalists (provided they were Serie A teams for the following season), or the next best team in the Ecuadorian Serie A not yet qualified for that competition.[6]
The Aampetra v Búhos ULVR match, originally scheduled to be played on 27 May 2022 at Estadio Rumiñahui in Sangolquí had been awarded to Búhos ULVR by walkover due to failures in the stadium's lighting system.[9] However, Aampetra successfully appealed and the match was rescheduled to 12 June 2022.[10]
Round of 32
Teams entering this round: 16 teams from Serie A. The team from the lower tier hosted the match.
Note: Match originally scheduled for 4 June 2022, 15:00 local time at Estadio Pablo Sandiford in Durán, but suspended and rescheduled due to the rescheduling of the first stage match between Aampetra and Búhos ULVR as well as social unrest in Ecuador.[12]
Source: FEF Rules for classification: 1) Points, 2) Goal difference, 3) Goals for, 4) Goals against, 5) Head-to-head results, 6) 2022 Copa Ecuador general table of qualified teams.[14] Notes:
^Since the eventual champions Independiente del Valle had already qualified for the 2023 Copa Libertadores and the eventual runners-up 9 de Octubre were ineligible to qualify due to their relegation from Serie A at the end of the season, the Copa Libertadores first stage berth was taken by the best eligible semi-finalist, El Nacional.[13]
