The oldest international tournament in football
Copa América is the CONMEBOL championship for South American national teams. First held in 1916 as the South American Championship of Nations, it predates the World Cup by 14 years and the European Championship by 44 years. It is the oldest continuously contested international football tournament in the world.
The competition has been held roughly every two to four years since, with format tweaks along the way. Since 2024 it has followed a four-year cycle aligned with the World Cup calendar.
The format
The modern Copa América features 16 teams: the 10 CONMEBOL members plus six invited sides, usually from CONCACAF. The teams are drawn into four groups of four. The top two from each group advance to a single-elimination bracket — quarter-finals, semi-finals, third-place playoff and final. Every knockout match is one leg. Extra time and penalties decide draws in the knockout rounds.
Rotation between host nations means the tournament has been staged from Argentina to the United States, giving it a truly continental (and sometimes global) footprint.
The 2024 tournament in the United States
Copa América 2024 was staged in 14 U.S. cities from June to July, doubling as a rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup infrastructure. Argentina, the defending champions, won again by beating Colombia 1-0 in the final at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, sealing back-to-back Copa titles and their record 16th continental title overall.
The tournament was Lionel Messi's likely last with Argentina at a major tournament — a fact that gave every match an added weight of anticipation.
The record
Argentina and Uruguay share the record for most Copa América titles, with 16 each (Uruguay were credited with a retroactive 1924 win). Brazil have won it nine times. The 'big three' of South American football have accounted for the vast majority of Copa América trophies, but Chile's back-to-back wins in 2015 and 2016 broke the pattern and reshaped how the tournament is scouted and prepared for.
Why it matters more than European fans realise
In South America, Copa América is not a warm-up for a World Cup — it is a central pillar of national identity. The rivalries — Argentina versus Brazil, Uruguay versus anyone, Colombia's golden generation — are among the most intense in football. Every match is watched by tens of millions across the continent, and losing is understood as a national crisis in a way that European Championship elimination sometimes isn't.
The tournament has also produced some of football's most iconic moments: Ronaldinho's Brazil in 1999, Colombia's dazzling 2001 side, Messi finally winning international silverware in 2021.
The 100th anniversary edition
Copa América Centenario in 2016 marked 100 years of the tournament. Uniquely, it was hosted outside South America — the United States — and expanded to 16 teams for the first time, adding six CONCACAF invitees. Chile beat Argentina on penalties in the final, retaining their title. The success of Centenario influenced the decision to make the 16-team format and periodic North American hosting a regular feature.
The path to 2028
Under the new four-year cycle, the next Copa América is scheduled for 2028, with host confirmation and qualifying details managed jointly by CONMEBOL and, where relevant, CONCACAF. The tournament's proximity to the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup gives South American federations a densely packed international calendar for the rest of the decade.
Copa América Femenina
The women's Copa América — Copa América Femenina — has been contested since 1991. It doubles as CONMEBOL's qualifier for the FIFA Women's World Cup and the Olympic Games. Brazil have dominated with nine titles; the tournament's rising profile mirrors the growth of women's football across South America over the last decade.
Copa América vs the European Championship
| | Copa América | UEFA European Championship | |---|---|---| | First edition | 1916 | 1960 | | Teams | 16 | 24 | | Cycle | 4 years | 4 years | | Most titles | Argentina, Uruguay (16) | Germany, Spain (4) | | Format | Groups + knockouts | Groups + knockouts | | Home advantage | Rotating South American hosts, occasional US editions | Rotating European hosts, occasional co-hosts |
The European Championship is bigger and richer; Copa América is older and, arguably, has produced more consistent quality at the top of the field, given that only ten CONMEBOL nations account for most of the historic winners. Direct comparisons of standard are difficult, but the presence of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in every edition guarantees a competitive floor that no other continental tournament can match.
Iconic Copa América moments
Some of football's defining images are Copa moments. Diego Maradona lifting Argentina at Ecuador 1991. Marta and Ronaldinho as teenage sensations at 1999. Colombia's José Pékerman generation reaching a semi-final in 2016. Chile's back-to-back penalty-shootout wins over Argentina in 2015 and 2016 — Lionel Messi missing his kick in the second — which fed the narrative that he could never win with the national team.
That narrative broke at the 2021 Copa América in Brazil, where Messi finally lifted his first senior international trophy with a 1-0 win over Brazil at the Maracanã. The image of him being lifted onto his teammates' shoulders was arguably the tournament's single most-shared piece of media of the decade.
The invited-teams model
Copa América has invited teams from outside CONMEBOL since 1993 — initially to fill an even bracket, later as a deliberate expansion strategy. Mexico is the most frequent invitee (11 editions) and reached two finals, in 1993 and 2001. The United States, Costa Rica, Japan, Qatar and Australia have all featured.
The invited-teams model paid off commercially and competitively, laying the groundwork for the 16-team format that is now standard. It is also part of why Copa América has been able to stage editions in the United States: those tournaments count invited CONCACAF sides as effectively hosts alongside CONMEBOL guests.
Historical background
The first tournament in 1916 was staged in Argentina to commemorate the country's centenary of independence. It featured four teams: Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. Uruguay won — a result that hinted at their extraordinary early dominance of the sport, which would culminate in the 1930 and 1950 World Cup titles.
Between 1916 and 1967 the tournament was called the South American Championship. It was rebranded Copa América in 1975 and has grown in every dimension since — from a compact championship of the founding nations to a continent-defining event that stops national life in South America for a month.
Related guides
- [FIFA World Cup 2026: the complete guide](/guides/fifa-world-cup-2026-complete-guide)
- [FIFA Club World Cup: the complete guide](/guides/fifa-club-world-cup-guide)
- [How FIFA world rankings work](/guides/how-fifa-rankings-work)
Frequently asked questions
- Which country has won the most Copa América titles?
- Argentina and Uruguay share the record with 16 titles each. Brazil are third with nine.
- How often is Copa América held?
- Since the 2024 edition, Copa América has followed a four-year cycle, aligned with the World Cup calendar.
- Who won Copa América 2024?
- Argentina won the 2024 Copa América, defeating Colombia 1-0 in the final held in Miami — their second consecutive Copa title.
- Why do CONCACAF teams play in Copa América?
- CONMEBOL has invited teams from other confederations since 1993, initially to complete the bracket and increasingly as a strategic partnership with CONCACAF. Recent editions have used the invited-teams model to enable joint hosting in the United States.
- When was the first Copa América?
- The first edition, then called the South American Championship, was held in Argentina in 1916. Uruguay won.