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The Pre-Libertadores tournament was a qualifying tournament played between clubs from Venezuela and Mexico to define two qualified clubs to the Copa Libertadores, it was held from 1998 to 2003.
The tournament consisted of two rounds, the first preliminary round called Selectivo Pre Pre-Libertadores played between Mexican clubs interested in participating, and the final round called Liguilla Pre-Libertadores played between two Venezuelan clubs and the best two Mexican clubs from the first round.
The tournament was an initiative of Mexican promoters, close to the FMF and the Televisa company, who sought to get Mexican teams into CONMEBOL continental club competition.[1]
In 1997, Grupo Pegaso (founded by Alejandro Burillo Azcárraga[2]), through promoter Eduardo Aguirre, began talks with the Venezuelan league clubs and the FVF to purchase the slots that corresponded to Venezuelan teams in the Copa Libertadores (2 direct slots at that time). Negotiations lasted until December of that year when the parties reached an agreement in a meeting held in Asunción, Paraguay; the two Venezuelan slots in the Copa Libertadores would be disputed in a qualifying tournament by two Venezuelan and two Mexican teams, in exchange, the Mexican side was to make a payment of US$200,000 to each Venezuelan team participating and US$80,000 to the FVF.[3] The agreement had CONMEBOL's approval, however, CONCACAF's permission was still needed to allow the Mexican teams to participate.
In early January 1998, Rafael Esquivel, president of the FVF at the time, and his treasurer Emiliano Rodríguez travel to Mexico to finalize the details of the tournament and then to the United States to meet with CONCACAF authorities. Finally, CONCACAF authorized the participation of the Mexican teams and 3 February is announced as the start date of the tournament.[4]
The competition was replaced by the InterLiga in 2004, as the qualification method for Mexican clubs.
The first round called "Selectivo Pre Pre-Libertadores" was played between Mexican clubs interested in participating and the matches were held in the United States. The format of this round varied depending on the number of interested clubs each year, and the best two clubs qualified to the final round.
The final round called "Liguilla Pre-Libertadores" was played between four clubs, two from Venezuela defined through the Apertura and Clausura tournaments of the Venezuelan Primera División and the two clubs from Mexico defined by the first round. The Mexican and Venezuelan clubs faced each other in round-trip matches, except with the club from the same country. The best two in a round-robin format qualified directly to the group stage of the Copa Libertadores.
Selectivo Pre Pre-Libertadores
The first preliminary round between Mexican clubs, and played the year before the final round. The best two, qualified to the Liguilla Pre-Libertadores.
Liguilla Pre-Libertadores
The final round to define two qualified clubs, during its 6 editions, 12 spots were disputed, of which 10 spots were won by the Mexican clubs and only two by the Venezuelan clubs.[5]
| Year | Qualified to Copa Libertadores | Eliminated | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 |  Guadalajara | América |  Caracas | Atlético Zulia |
| 1999 | Monterrey | Estudiantes de Mérida | Necaxa | ULA |
| 2000 | Atlas | América | Deportivo Italchacao | Deportivo Táchira |
| 2001 | Cruz Azul | Deportivo Táchira | Deportivo Italchacao | Atlante |
| 2002 | América | Morelia | Caracas | Trujillanos |
| 2003 | Pumas UNAM | Cruz Azul | Estudiantes de Mérida | Nacional Táchira |
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