- Spanish:
- America Cup
- Formerly (until 1975):
- South American Championship
- Related Topics:
- football
- What Is the Finalissima?
- Notable Honorees:
- Lionel Messi
- Ronaldinho
- Rivaldo
Copa América
What is Copa América?
Which team has won the most Copa América titles?
Has Lionel Messi ever won the Copa América?
Copa AmĂ©rica, South Americaâs premier menâs football (soccer) tournament. The Copa AmĂ©rica is held every four years and is the worldâs oldest international football tournament. The tournament is governed by the ConfederaciĂłn Sudamericana de FĂștbol (CONMEBOL; South American Football Federation) and features CONMEBOLâs 10 member countriesâArgentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuelaâalong with two invited national teams from outside the continent. The championship has featured popular footballers such as PelĂ©, Diego Maradona, Zico, Gabriel Batistuta, Ronaldo, Luis SuĂĄrez, Lionel Messi, and Neymar.
History
The Copa AmĂ©rica Femenina is South Americaâs premier womenâs football tournament, organized by CONMEBOL. First held in 1991, the tournament not only crowns the continental champion but also serves as a qualifier for the FIFA Womenâs World Cup, Olympic Games, and Pan American Sports Games. As of 2024 the Brazilian national team has dominated the tournament, winning all editions except in 2006, when Argentina was crowned champion.
The Copa AmĂ©rica was first held in 1916 in honor of the 100th anniversary of Argentinaâs independence. Uruguay won the inaugural title. It was initially called the South American Football Championship and was renamed the Copa AmĂ©rica in 1975. The format of the tournament has evolved over the years and, starting in 1993, national teams from other continents were invited to participate. Mexico and the United States were the first non-CONMEBOL teams to play in the tournament, with Mexico finishing as runner-up in 1993. The Copa AmĂ©rica was held at irregular intervals (annually, biennially, or even after longer gaps) until it adopted a quadrennial format in 2007.
In 2016, just a year after the 2015 edition, CONMEBOL held a special tournament called the Copa América Centenario to celebrate 100 years of the Copa América. Hosted by the U.S., it was the first Copa América to be held outside South America. Chile won the 2016 tournament, defeating Argentina in the final. The next regular Copa América was held in 2019, four years after the 2015 edition. CONMEBOL decided to hold the tournament again in 2020 to align it with the UEFA European Championship. However, the event was postponed to 2021 because of the outbreak of COVID-19. The 2024 edition was also held in the U.S.
List of Copa América winners
- Norberto âTuchoâ MĂ©ndez (Argentina), Zizinho (Brazil): 17 goals
- Teodoro FernĂĄndez (Peru), Severino Varela (Uruguay): 15 goals
- Paolo Guerrero (Peru), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Eduardo Vargas (Chile): 14 goals
- Argentina: 16 championships (1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959*, 1991, 1993, 2021, 2024)
- Uruguay: 15 championships (1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1956, 1959*, 1967, 1983, 1987, 1995, 2011)
- Brazil: 9 championships (1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2019)
- Chile: 2 championships (2015, 2016)
- Paraguay: 2 championships (1953, 1979)
- Peru: 2 championships (1939, 1975)
- Bolivia: 1 championship (1963)
- Colombia: 1 championship (2001)
*Two tournaments were held in 1959.