All ten countries within the South American Football Confederation have entered teams into the competition.

The qualifying tournament will be played on a league basis with each country playing a total of 18 matches.

The top four teams in the league at the completion of the ninety matches, will automatically qualify for the final competition.

The team that finishes in fifth place will then play the winners of the Oceania Confederation preliminary competition on a home and away basis, with the winners qualifying for the final competition in Korea/Japan.