2026 Copa Ecuador
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| Copa Ecuador Banco Pichincha 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country | Ecuador |
| Dates | 28 March – 2 December 2026 |
| Teams | 51 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 19 |
| Goals scored | 54 (2.84 per match) |
| Top goal scorer | Three players (2 goals each) |
All statistics correct as of 24 April 2026. | |
The 2026 Copa Ecuador (officially known as the Copa Ecuador Banco Pichincha 2026 for sponsorship purposes)[1] is the sixth edition of the Copa Ecuador, Ecuador's domestic football cup. It began on 28 March and is scheduled to end on 2 December 2026.[2]
Universidad Católica are the defending champions.
For this season the competition was expanded from 49 to 51 teams, entering two additional sides from the amateur leagues but keeping the single-elimination format used in previous editions. The qualifying round was expanded to include four teams: two from the third-tier competition Segunda Categoría as well as two amateur sides, with the winners advancing to the first stage of the competition, in which 12 Ecuadorian Serie B teams, the remaining 18 Segunda Categoría ones and the amateur champions entered the competition. For this round, the involved clubs were drawn into 16 single-match ties to be hosted by the team competing in the lower tier, with the winners advancing to the second stage.[3]
The 16 Serie A teams are set to enter the competition in the round of 32, where they will be drawn against the 16 winners from the previous round. The subsequent knockout rounds in the competition except for the semi-finals (which will be contested over two legs) will be played over a single leg to be hosted by the team from the lower tier, with the final being played on neutral ground.[4]
Prizes
The champions of this edition will qualify for the 2027 Copa Libertadores, taking the Ecuador 4 berth which will enable them to enter the first qualifying stage of that competition, and will also be entitled to play the 2027 Supercopa Ecuador against the 2026 LigaPro Serie A champions.
Schedule
The schedule for the competition was presented by the Ecuadorian Football Federation on 27 March 2026.[5]
| Round | Draw date | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying stage | 27 March 2026 | 28–31 March 2026 |
| First round | 7–24 April 2026 | |
| Round of 32 | 27 April 2026 | 5 May – 4 June 2026 |
| Round of 16 | 21 July – 20 August 2026 | |
| Quarter-finals | 25 August – 10 September 2026 | |
| Semi-finals | 6–8 October 2026 (1st leg) 27–29 October 2026 (2nd leg) | |
| Final | 2 December 2026 |
Teams
51 clubs will take part in this edition of the Copa Ecuador: 16 from Serie A, 12 from Serie B, 20 from Segunda Categoría, and 3 amateur teams.
Serie A
Serie B
- 9 de Octubre
- 22 de Julio
- Atlético
- Cuenca Juniors
- Cumbayá
- Deportivo Santo Domingo
- El Nacional
- Gualaceo
- Independiente Juniors
- LDU Portoviejo
- San Antonio
- Vinotinto Ecuador
Segunda Categoría
- Africando
- Anaconda
- Astillero
- Baños Ciudad de Fuego
- Daquilema
- Deportivo Ibarra
- Deportivo Quito
- Dunamis 04
- Guaranda
- Huaquillas
- Independiente Azogues
- Insutec
- Juventud Italiana
- La Unión
- Loja City
- Nazareno
- Primero de Mayo
- Río Aguarico
- Santo Domingo
- Unión Deportiva Juvenil
Amateur teams
- 7 de Febrero
- Bejucal Sport
- Quito
Qualifying stage
The qualifying stage was played by four teams: the two worst-placed teams in the 2025 Segunda Categoría's general standings and the amateur league runner-up and third-placed teams.
First qualifying round
For the first qualifying round, the two Segunda Categoría teams were drawn against the amateur sides in two ties, with the winning sides advancing to the second qualifying round. Matches in this round were played on 28 March 2026.[2]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Bejucal Sport | 2–3 | Primero de Mayo |
| 7 de Febrero | 1–0 | Loja City |
Second qualifying round
The two winners from the previous round played an additional match on 31 March 2026, with the winner advancing to the first round.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 7 de Febrero | 0–1[6] | Primero de Mayo |
First round
Twelve teams from Serie B, 18 teams from Segunda Categoría, and the amateur champion (Quito) entered the competition in the first round, along with the winning team from the qualifying stage. In this round, the team from the lower tier hosted the match.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Nazareno | 0–4[7] | 9 de Octubre |
| Unión Deportiva Juvenil | 0–2[8] | Daquilema |
| Juventud Italiana | 2–1[7] | Atlético |
| Guaranda | 0–0 (3–4 p)[9] | San Antonio |
| Insutec | 3–3 (8–7 p)[10] | Deportivo Ibarra |
| Independiente Azogues | 0–5[11] | LDU Portoviejo |
| Astillero | 2–1[12] | 22 de Julio |
| Africando | 1–2[13] | Independiente Juniors |
| Baños Ciudad de Fuego | 2–1[14] | Anaconda |
| Dunamis 04 | 1–5[15] | El Nacional |
| Deportivo Quito | 0–1[16] | Gualaceo |
| Santo Domingo | 1–2[17] | Vinotinto Ecuador |
| Quito | 2–3[7] | Cuenca Juniors |
| La Unión | 0–0 (5–3 p)[7] | Cumbayá |
| Primero de Mayo | 0–2[18] | Deportivo Santo Domingo |
| Huaquillas | 1–0[10] | Río Aguarico |
Bracket
| Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||||||||
| Independiente Juniors | |||||||||||||||||||||
| LDU Quito | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Huaquillas | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Leones | |||||||||||||||||||||
| San Antonio | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Aucas | |||||||||||||||||||||
| La Unión | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Deportivo Cuenca | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Daquilema | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Emelec | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Astillero | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Guayaquil City | |||||||||||||||||||||
| El Nacional | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Universidad Católica | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Vinotinto Ecuador | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Orense | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Deportivo Santo Domingo | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Independiente del Valle | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 de Octubre | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Manta | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Gualaceo | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Mushuc Runa | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Cuenca Juniors | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Macará | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Insutec | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Barcelona | |||||||||||||||||||||
| LDU Portoviejo | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Libertad | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Baños Ciudad de Fuego | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Delfín | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Juventud Italiana | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Técnico Universitario | |||||||||||||||||||||
Round of 32
In the round of 32, the 16 Serie A teams will enter the competition. In each tie, the team from the lower tier will host the match. The draw for the round of 32 and subsequent rounds was held on 27 April 2026.[19]
| TBD 2026 | Independiente Juniors | v | LDU Quito | |
| --:-- UTC−5 |
| TBD 2026 | La Unión | v | Deportivo Cuenca | |
| --:-- UTC−5 |
| TBD 2026 | Astillero | v | Guayaquil City | |
| --:-- UTC−5 |
| TBD 2026 | El Nacional | v | Universidad Católica | |
| --:-- UTC−5 |
| TBD 2026 | Vinotinto Ecuador | v | Orense | |
| --:-- UTC−5 |
| TBD 2026 | Deportivo Santo Domingo | v | Independiente del Valle | |
| --:-- UTC−5 |
| TBD 2026 | 9 de Octubre | v | Manta | |
| --:-- UTC−5 |
| TBD 2026 | Gualaceo | v | Mushuc Runa | |
| --:-- UTC−5 |
| TBD 2026 | LDU Portoviejo | v | Libertad | |
| --:-- UTC−5 |
| TBD 2026 | Juventud Italiana | v | Técnico Universitario | |
| --:-- UTC−5 |
Top scorers
- As of 24 April 2026
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[20] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cristian Benalcázar |
Deportivo Ibarra | 2 |
| Fricson Borja |
El Nacional | ||
| Felipe Mejía |
9 de Octubre |