 In order to reduce the impact of the absence of these key players in the national league, the regional tournament was played in which the winner contested the second berth to the 1982 Copa Libertadores against the Descentralizado runner-up.The second phase of the league was the Descentralizado in which all sixteen teams competed in single league table and its winner was crowned national champion while its runner-up faced the first phase winner for the second berth of the Copa Libertadores.The Torneo Regional was divided into 4 groups.