America's most prominent and esteemed soccer club tournament, the Copa Santander Libertadores. The deal will allow Konami to integrate all components of the Copa Santander Libertadores Club Competition including their all-star teams and players - into the Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) Series. With the addition of Copa Santander Libertadores into Pro Evolution Soccer's lineup of licenses, Konami now possesses two of the most powerful soccer tournaments in the world, Copa Santander Libertadores and UEFA Champions League.
"The Copa Santander Libertadores is one of the most influential and important international soccer competitions in the World," said Shinji Hirano, President for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "We always strive to make our sports titles as true to life as possible and with the exclusive rights to Copa Santander Libertadores, fans can expect to see their favorite teams and players on the roster in Pro Evolution Soccer titles."
"We are very proud of reaching an agreement with Konami," said Dr. Nicolás Leoz, President of CONMEBOL. "The Copa Santander Libertadores is one of the most important competitions in the world and its presence within the Pro Evolution Soccer videogame indicates the great importance of this competition and the interest that it generates around the world."
Founded in 1960, the Copa Santander Libertadores is an annual international soccer tournament organized by CONMEBOL. The name of the tournament pays homage to the Libertadores, which were the freedom fighters that played a crucial part in the liberation of most Latin American countries during the independence wars. Despite being a South American club competition, Mexican teams began receiving invites to the tournament in 1998 as well. Today the tournament consists of at least three clubs per country, while Argentina and Brazil have five.
