The matches took place during the year after the crash ofLaMia Flight 2933, in which 19Chapecoense players and the club's coach died while travelling to compete in thefirst leg of the2016 Copa Sudamericana Final, which was to have taken place atAtlético Nacional'sEstadio Atanasio Girardot inMedellín.[3] Following the crash, CONMEBOL awarded the2016 Copa Sudamericana to Chapecoense, at the request of Atlético Nacional.[4] The tragedy has produced a friendship between the two clubs:[5] on the scheduled night of the original match, Atlético Nacional held a memorial for the victims attended by over 130,000 people including the mayor ofChapecó,[6] an act that Chapecoense fans offered thanks for in their own club's memorial gathering.[7]
The Recopa Sudamericana was played on a home-and-awaytwo-legged basis, with the Copa Libertadores champions hosting the second leg. If tied on aggregate, theaway goals rule would not be used, and 30 minutes ofextra time would be played. If still tied after extra time, thepenalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner.[8][9]