Copa América

It is the oldest still-running continental football competition, as well as the third most watched in the world. The competition determines the champions of South America. Since the 1990s, teams from North America and Asia have also been invited to compete.

CONMEBOL Copa América

Organizing body	CONMEBOL
Founded	1916; 108 years ago (1916)
Region	South America
Number of teams	16 (2024)
Qualifier for	CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions
Related competitions	UEFA European Championship Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo
Current champion(s)	Argentina (15th title)
Most successful team(s)	Argentina  Uruguay (15 titles each)
Website	copaamerica.com
2024 Copa América

Since 1993, the tournament has generally featured 12 teams — all 10 CONMEBOL teams and two additional teams from other confederations. Mexico participated in every tournament between 1993 and 2016, with one additional team drawn from CONCACAF, except for 1999, when AFC team Japan filled out the 12-team roster, and 2019, which featured Japan and Qatar. The 2016 version of the event, Copa América Centenario, featured 16 teams, with six teams from CONCACAF in addition to the 10 from CONMEBOL. Mexico's two runner-up finishes are the highest for a non-CONMEBOL side.

Eight of the ten CONMEBOL national teams have won the tournament at least once in its 47 stagings since the event's inauguration in 1916, with only Ecuador and Venezuela yet to win. Ecuador and Venezuela are the only teams still yet to win. Argentina and Uruguay have the most championships in the tournament's history, with 15 cups each. The country that hosted the tournament the most times (nine editions) is Argentina, including the inaugural edition in 1916. The United States is the only non-CONMEBOL country that hosted the event, having done so in 2016, and will do so again in 2024. On three occasions (in 1975, 1979, and 1983), the tournament was held in multiple South American countries.

Beginnings

 

The first football team in South America, Lima Cricket and Football Club, was established in Peru in 1859, and the Argentine Football Association was founded in 1893. By the early 20th century, football was growing in popularity, and the first international competition held among national teams of the continent occurred in 1910 when Argentina organized an event to commemorate the centenary of the May Revolution. Chile and Uruguay participated, but this event is not considered official by CONMEBOL. Similarly, for the centennial celebration of its independence, Argentina held a tournament between 2 and 17 July 1916 with Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil being the first participants of the tournament. This so-called Campeonato Sudamericano de Football would be the first edition of what is currently known as Copa América; Uruguay would triumph in this first edition after tying 0–0 with hosts Argentina in the deciding, last match held in Estadio Racing Club in Avellaneda.

Seeing the success of the tournament, a boardmember of the Uruguayan Football Association, Héctor Rivadavia, proposed the establishment of a confederation of the associations of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, and on 9 July, independence day in Argentina, CONMEBOL was founded. The following year, the competition was played again, this time in Uruguay. Uruguay would win the title again to win their bicampeonato after defeating Argentina 1–0 in the last match of the tournament. The success of the tournament on Charrúan soil would help consolidate the tournament.

 

After a flu outbreak in Rio de Janeiro canceled the tournament in 1918, Brazil hosted the tournament in 1919 and was crowned champion for the first time after defeating the defending champions 1–0 in a playoff match to decide the title, while the Chilean city of Viña del Mar would host the 1920 event which was won by Uruguay.

For the 1921 event, Paraguay participated for the first time after its football association affiliated to CONMEBOL earlier that same year. Argentina won the competition for the first time thanks to the goals of Julio Libonatti. In subsequent years, Uruguay would dominate the tournament, which at that time was the largest football tournament in the world. Argentina, however, would not be far behind and disputed the supremacy with the Charruas. After losing the 1928 final at the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam, Argentina would gain revenge in the 1929 South American Championship by defeating the Uruguayans in the last, decisive match. During this period, both Bolivia and Peru debuted in the tournament in 1926 and 1927, respectively.

Disorganization and intermittency

After the first World Cup held in Uruguay in 1930, the enmity between the football federations of Uruguay and Argentina prevented the competition from being played for a number of years. Only in 1935 was it possible to dispute a special edition of the event to be officially reinstated in 1939. Peru became the host nation of the 1939 edition and won the competition for the first time. Ecuador made their debut at that tournament.

In 1941, Chile hosted that year's edition in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Santiago for which the capacity of the newly built Estadio Nacional was expanded from 30,000 to 70,000 spectators. Despite the large investment and initial success of the team, the Chileans would be defeated in the last match by eventual champions Argentina. Uruguay hosted and won the 1942 edition. Chile would host again in 1945, and came close to playing for the title against Argentina. However, Brazil spoiled that possibility, and Argentina would win the tournament once again on Chilean soil.

 

The event then entered a period of great disruption. The championship was not played on a regular basis and many editions would be deemed unofficial, only to be considered valid later on by CONMEBOL. For example, Argentina would be the first (and so far only) team to win three consecutive titles by winning the championships of 1945, 1946 and 1947. After those three annual tournaments, the competition returned to being held every two years, then three and later four. There were even two tournaments held in 1959, one in Argentina and a second in Ecuador. During this period, some of the national teams were indifferent to the tournament. Some did not participate every year, others sent lesser teams; in the 1959 edition held in Ecuador, Brazil entered a team from the state of Pernambuco. Bolivia won for the first time when it hosted in 1963, but was defeated in the first game of the 1967 tournament by debutant Venezuela. The founding of the Copa Libertadores in 1959 also affected the way the tournament was viewed by its participants.

After eight years of absence, the event resumed in 1975 and officially acquired the name Copa América. The tournament had no fixed venue, and all matches were played throughout the year in each country. Nine teams participated in the group stages with the defending champions receiving a bye into the semifinals. The tournament was contested every four years using this system until 1987.

Renewal and host rotation

 

In 1986, CONMEBOL decided to return to having one country host the tournament and to contest it every other year. From 1987 until 2001, the event was hosted every two years in rotation by the ten members of the confederation. The format would remain constant with a first round of groups, but the final round stage ranged from being a new, final round-robin group or a single-elimination system to decide the winner. This renewal helped the tournament, which began to receive television coverage in Europe and North America. The 1987 Copa América was held in Argentina; this was the first time the nation had hosted an edition in 28 years. Despite entering as heavy favorites for being the reigning world champions (having won the 1986 FIFA World Cup), playing at home and having a team largely composed of its World Cup winners led by the legendary Diego Maradona, Argentina would finish in a disappointing fourth place after being beaten by defending champions Uruguay 0–1 in the semifinals. Uruguay would defeat a surprisingly strong Chilean squad who made it to the final, disposing of the powerful Brazil 4–0 on the group stage.

Brazil lifted its first official international title since the 1970 FIFA World Cup upon winning the 1989 Copa América held on home soil. Argentina, in turn, won the Copa América after 32 long years in 1991 in Chile, thanks to a refreshed squad led by the prolific goalscorer Gabriel Batistuta. The 1993 Copa América tournament in Ecuador would take its current form. Along with the usual ten teams, CONMEBOL invited two countries from CONCACAF to participate, Mexico and the United States.

Uruguay managed to win the competition in 1995 as host, ending a period of decline for Uruguayan football. With the implementation of rotating hosts, Colombia, Paraguay and Venezuela hosted the tournament for the first time. Brazil entered a series of victories, winning four of the five continental titles between 1997 and 2007. The first, in 1997, was won after defeating host nation Bolivia 1–3 with goals from Leonardo, Denílson and Ronaldo becoming crucial in the Verde-Amarela's consagration on Bolivia's altitude. Brazil would successfully defend the title in 1999 after thumping Uruguay 3–0 in Asuncion, Paraguay. However, the 2001 Copa América saw one of the biggest surprises of the history of the sport as Honduras eliminated Brazil in the quarterfinals. Colombia, the host nation, would go on to win the competition for the first time ever.

 

From 2001 to 2007, the tournament was contested every three years, and from 2007 forward every four years, with the exception of the tournament's centennial in 2016.

Running from an embarrassing performance in 2001, Brazil reestablished itself in the South American pantheon after defeating Argentina, on penalties, in order to win the 2004 competition held in Peru. Three years later, the two teams met again in the final, this time in Venezuela. Once again, Brazil came out victorious after crushing Argentina 3–0.

Argentina hosted the 2011 competition and was ousted by Uruguay in the quarterfinals by penalty shootout. Uruguay would go on defeating Peru 2–0 in the semis to reach the finals and overpower Paraguay 3–0, thus winning the trophy on Argentinean soil for the third time and second in a row. This, the 43rd edition, was the first time that neither Argentina nor Brazil reached the semifinals of a tournament they both had entered.

The 2015 competition was hosted in Chile, who swapped hosting positions with Brazil in light of the latter's hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. Chile went on to win the tournament, their first title, on home soil.

Centenary and beyond

In 2016, the centenary of the tournament was celebrated with the Copa América Centenario tournament hosted in the United States; the tournament was the first to be hosted outside of South America and had an expanded field of 16 teams from CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. During the tournament, media outlets reported that CONMEBOL and CONCACAF were negotiating a merger of the Copa América with the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the latter's continental tournament held every 2 years, with the United States hosting regular tournaments; United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati called the report inaccurate, saying that no such discussion had taken place and that a new tournament would have to be established. For the second time, Chile won the trophy in a penalty shoot-out. The 2016 edition broke tournament records for attendance, with 1.5 million total spectators and an average of 46,000 per match through the semi-finals.

Brazil hosted the 2019 edition, which was played in the normal four-year cycle, and won their ninth title by defeating Peru in the final at the renovated Maracanã Stadium. CONMEBOL approved a permanent switch from odd to even years beginning with the 2020 Copa América to move in line with the UEFA European Championship, which would be jointly hosted by Argentina and Colombia and split into two groups. The tournament was postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lost two invited teams from Asia—Australia and Qatar—due to fixture congestion. Colombia requested that the tournament be moved to November 2021 due to widespread protests and increased COVID-19 cases, but withdrew after CONMEBOL rejected a second postponement. 13 days prior to the opening match, the entire tournament was moved to Brazil due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in Argentina. The 2021 Copa América was played by 10 teams with no spectators at most matches due to the pandemic; the final at the Maracanã was limited to 10 percent of capacity. Argentina won their first title in 28 years by defeating Brazil in the final.

CONMEBOL and CONCACAF signed a collaborative partnership agreement in January 2023 that included the United States being selected as host for the 2024 Copa América, which would feature six CONCACAF teams. The tournament would share some venues with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is planned to be co-hosted by the United States.

 

In 1984, CONMEBOL adopted the policy of rotating the right to host the Copa América amongst the ten member confederations. The first rotation was completed following the 2007 Copa América which took place in Venezuela. A second rotation commenced in 2011, with host countries rotating in alphabetical order, starting with Argentina. Chile, Mexico and the United States expressed interest in hosting the next tournament, but the CONMEBOL Executive Committee decided to continue the execution of the rotation, giving priority of the organization to each of its member associations; each association confirms whether they will host an edition or not, having no obligation to do so. Argentina confirmed on 24 November 2008, via representatives of the Argentine Football Association, that it would host the 2011 Copa América.

The 2015 Copa América was due to be held in Brazil following the order of rotation. However, as Brazil was hosting both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, the decision was reconsidered. Although CONMEBOL President Nicolas Leoz proposed hosting the continental tournament in Mexico (a member of the CONCACAF federation) and board members Brazil and Chile discussed the possibility of exchanging the 2015 and 2019 tournaments, it was decided and confirmed by the CBF in February 2011 that the 2015 Copa América would remain in Brazil. However, in March 2012, CBF president Ricardo Teixeira resigned from his position and the CBF agreed to swap the tournament's hosting with Chile. The swap was made official in May 2012. The centennial edition of the tournament, Copa América Centenario, took place in June 2016, and was held in the United States. The Copa América Centenario marked the first time the tournament was hosted by a non-CONMEBOL nation.

Each Copa América since 2005 has had its own mascot. Gardelito, the mascot for the 1987 competition, was the first Copa América mascot.

Hosts	Editions hosted
Argentina	9 (1916, 1921, 1925, 1929, 1937, 1946, 1959, 1987, 2011)
Uruguay	7 (1917, 1923, 1924, 1942, 1956, 1967, 1995)
Chile	7 (1920, 1926, 1941, 1945, 1955, 1991, 2015)
Brazil	6 (1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, 2019, 2021)
Peru	6 (1927, 1935, 1939, 1953, 1957, 2004)
Ecuador	3 (1947, 1959, 1993)
Bolivia	2 (1963, 1997)
United StatesC	2 (2016, 2024)
Paraguay	1 (1999)
Colombia	1 (2001)
Venezuela	1 (2007)
home-and-away basis	3 (1975, 1979, 1983)

^C = non-CONMEBOL host.

In early tournaments all teams competed in a round-robin stage, while later ones saw the teams were split into different groups followed by a single-elimination knockout stage.

Notes