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Sudamérica Rugby

One of the six regional associations of World Rugby, with a seat on its Council under Bye-Law 9.1(b); it dates its founding act to Asunción on 14 October 1988, as the Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby.
✓ Last reviewed: October 2026
World federationWorld Rugby, one of its six regional associations[1]
World Rugby CouncilOne Representative under Bye-Law 9.1(b), and two votes under Bye-Law 9.4(c) (bye-laws effective after the November 2024 Council)[2]
FoundedFounding act signed in Asunción, Paraguay, on 14 October 1988, by the association’s own account[4]
Members“trece uniones miembro” (thirteen member unions), by its own site[3]
BasedMontevideo, Uruguay, as its own site locates it; no statutory seat could be retrieved[3]
CompetitionsSudamérica Rugby Cup, the Americas Rugby Championship, senior divisions Mayor A, B and C, sevens and youth events[3]

What is Sudamérica Rugby?

Sudamérica Rugby is the regional association for rugby union in South America within World Rugby. World Rugby’s membership page counts “133 national member Unions” and names six regional associations, Asia Rugby, Rugby Africa, Rugby Europe, Oceania Rugby, Rugby Americas North and Sudamérica Rugby.[1] Its about page describes a federation of “134 national member federations affiliated through six regional associations”.[8] The six are Asia Rugby, Rugby Africa, Rugby Europe, Oceania Rugby, Rugby Americas North and Sudamérica Rugby.[1]

The association’s own site greets readers with: “Bienvenidos a la página Oficial de Sudamérica Rugby. El sitio concentra información de la Institución y sus trece uniones miembro.”[3] Its history page gives the body’s original name as the “Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby”, and sets out objectives that include promoting “la difusión, desarrollo y perfeccionamiento de la práctica de Rugby amateur” in South American countries and organising regional championships.[4]

Its legal form could not be established: no statutes could be retrieved from its site, and World Rugby’s bye-laws do not state one. Its reach extends north of South America, since member unions from Central America take part in its competitions, among them a “Centro Americano Juvenil Masculino” youth event.[3]

What does Sudamérica Rugby govern or do?

Sudamérica Rugby writes no laws of the game; the laws, the World Cups and the world rankings are World Rugby’s. The association’s field is regional competition and development, which matches the objectives set out in its founding act: to “promover, patrocinar, organizar y llevar a cabo encuentros, torneos y campeonatos internacionales” and to organise regional championships across categories.[4]

Its site lists the competitions it runs: the Sudamérica Rugby Cup, the Americas Rugby Championship, senior divisions Mayor A, B and C, the Sudamérica Rugby Cup Juvenil with Juvenil A and B, men’s and women’s sevens, and a Central American youth tournament.[3]

It also has a voice in World Rugby’s governance. Under Bye-Law 9.1(b) the World Rugby Council includes “one Representative from each of the following Member Associations”, a list that names Sudamérica Rugby, and Bye-Law 9.1(e) adds one more Representative from each, “provided such additional Representative is female”.[2] The association’s site names Sebastián Piñeyrúa and Marjorie Enya as its World Rugby Council members.[4] No document retrieved names Sudamérica Rugby as a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code in its own right.

When was Sudamérica Rugby founded and where is it based?

The association gives two dates. Its history page says that “su inicio se remonta según consta en el libro El Rugby en Uruguay al 10 de octubre de 1961, cuando se produjo la primera reunión durante la disputa del Campeonato Sudamericano”.[4] The formal founding act it reproduces is dated 14 October 1988 in Asunción, Paraguay, with the unions of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay as founders, under the name “Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby”.[4] Both dates rest on the association’s own account; no independent source for either could be retrieved.

The change from that name to Sudamérica Rugby is not dated on the association’s history page, and no primary source for the date of the renaming could be retrieved.[4] World Rugby’s bye-laws, in the version effective after the November 2024 Council, still list it as “Sudamericana Rugby (Rugby Americas South)”, while World Rugby’s membership page uses “Sudamérica Rugby”.[2][1]

The association’s site places it in Montevideo, Uruguay, without printing a street address; no statutory seat could be retrieved.[3] The site names its World Rugby Council members but not a president, and the officers of the association could not be confirmed.[4]

How is Sudamérica Rugby recognised?

The recognising instrument is World Rugby’s. Its membership page names Sudamérica Rugby among its six regional associations, and its about page describes the national member federations as “affiliated through six regional associations”.[1][8] Its bye-laws treat the six bodies as “Member Associations”: Bye-Law 9.1(b) gives the Council “one Representative from each of the following Member Associations: Asia Rugby, Rugby Africa, Rugby Europe, Oceania Rugby, Sudamericana Rugby (Rugby Americas South) and Rugby Americas North”, and Bye-Law 9.4(c) provides that “each Member Association set out in Bye-Law 9.1(b) shall have two votes”.[2] The bye-law page carries the note “Bye Law 9 & Bye Law 10 - effective post-Council Nov 2024”.[2]

The difference between those votes and those of the unions is set out in the same bye-law: Bye-Law 9.1(a) gives two Representatives to each of the Foundation Unions, to the Unión Argentina de Rugby, to the Italian federation and to the other unions categorised as High Performance Unions.[2] Olympic recognition is World Rugby’s; no document retrieved gives Sudamérica Rugby a recognition of its own from the IOC.

The continental multi-sport tie is the Pan American Games of Panam Sports: rugby is on the programme of the Lima 2027 Games, 23 July to 8 August 2027.[7] A Panam Sports document naming the association for rugby could not be retrieved.

What does Sudamérica Rugby organise?

Sudamérica Rugby runs senior fifteen-a-side competitions: its site lists the Sudamérica Rugby Cup and the senior divisions Mayor A, B and C, though details of their latest editions could not be retrieved.[3]

Its most recent completed senior event is the Americas Rugby Championship, held in Valparaíso, Chile, at the Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander. The association reported that four teams, Chile XV, Argentina XV, Uruguay XV and Paraguay XV, took part, and that on 6 September 2026 Chile XV beat Argentina XV 28–27, so that “el torneo continental se definió sobre el final del sexto partido, con el agónico pero merecido triunfo de Chile XV ante Argentina XV”.[6] It headlined the result “Chile XV celebra su primer título en el Americas Rugby Championship”.[5]

The site also lists youth competitions, the Sudamérica Rugby Cup Juvenil and Juvenil A and B, men’s and women’s sevens, and the Central American youth event.[3] For the Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia, the association noted the participation of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay; qualification for the World Cup is set by World Rugby.[5]

Who are its members?

The association’s site speaks of “sus trece uniones miembro”, its thirteen member unions; the figure is undated and is given here as read on 4 October 2026.[3] Its history page lists Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay as the founding unions of 1988.[4]

The site’s member listing also shows unions from Central America, among them Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, alongside South American unions such as Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela; that listing runs to more names than the thirteen-member figure, and the site does not say which are full members and which take part on another footing.[3][4] No breakdown of membership categories could be retrieved.

World Rugby’s own totals differed between its pages on 4 October 2026: the membership page gave “133 national member Unions”, “115 full member Unions and 18 associate member Unions”, without a regional breakdown, and the about page “134 national member federations”.[1][8] Each union belongs to World Rugby directly; the regional association is the body through which, in World Rugby’s words, they are “affiliated”.[8]

References

  1. World Rugby — Membership (national member unions; six regional associations). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  2. World Rugby — Bye-Law 9, The Council (effective post-Council November 2024). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  3. Sudamérica Rugby — official site, home page (member unions, competitions). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  4. Sudamérica Rugby — history page (1961 meeting, 1988 founding act, Council members). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  5. Sudamérica Rugby — news and competitions page (Americas Rugby Championship 2026; Rugby World Cup 2027). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  6. Sudamérica Rugby — “Chile XV celebra su primer título en el Americas Rugby Championship”, 6 September 2026. Accessed 2026-10-04.
  7. Panam Sports — Lima 2027 Pan American Games (dates and sports programme). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  8. World Rugby — About us (134 national member federations; six regional associations). Accessed 2026-10-04.