Copa Ecuador Predictions, Fixtures & Standings

The Copa Ecuador, officially known as Copa FEF Ecuador, is a knockout football competition in men's domestic Ecuadorian football organized by the Ecuadorian Football Federation that started in 1970 and was reinstated in 2018. The winners qualify for the first stage of the following year's Copa Libertadores and the Supercopa Ecuador against the Serie A champions. Background In 1970, the Ecuadorian Football Association (nowadays known as the Ecuadorian Football Federation or FEF), organized a tournament named Copa Ecuador to choose a representative for the 1970 Copa Ganadores de Copa. This first edition was expected to be contested by the clubs placing from fourth to eighth in the previous league championship, however only three clubs participated: Barcelona, El Nacional, and Everest, who had placed third, fourth and eighth in the previous season. After drawing with Barcelona and defeating Everest, and with both teams declining to play their final match, El Nacional won the competition and took part in the Copa Ganadores de Copa. The reinstatement of the Copa Ecuador was approved by the FEF on 18 May 2018, considering that the governing body would stop organizing the first and second tier championships starting from 2019 and that it was needed to both expand the scope of Ecuadorian football to more places within the country and generate new economic resources for the FEF and the lower tiers of domestic football, represented by the provincial associations.