The Copa America (also known as the American Cup) is the main football competition of men’s national football teams in South America. The Cup is held every two years with each country from the CONMEBOL taking part in the event. The Copa America is overseen the by CONMEBOL, the South American football confederation, and is one of the oldest international tournaments in the world. There is no qualifying stage in the tournament as all ten CONMEBOL teams participate by right, and others compete by invitation, recent of which has been Mexico. Overall the most successful teams of the competition have been Argentina and Uruguay as each country holds a total of fourteen championships.

The most recent champion of the Copa America tournament is Brazil, with Real Madrid striker Robinho, scoring the most goals, 6, out of any player in the competition. Argentina has hosted the competition 9 times, the most times out of any country in South America.

Memorable historic moments of the Copa America

The Copa America is the oldest surviving football competition in the world today, and during this time there were a lot of important historical moments. The tournament was held first in 1916 during the month of July, as part of Argentina’s independence ceremony. During the first tournament Uruguay, beat the host country Venezuela to win the championship. The tournament was then named Campeonato Sudamericano de Selecciones (South American Championship of National Teams), but was changed to Copa America (American Cup) in 1975. Between 1975 and 1983 there was no host nation for the competition, so it was held in away fashion. Ever since 1997 the United States National Soccer Team, declined invitations to be part of the tournament, and in 2006 accepted its first invitation. The most recent memorable moment in the Copa America was when up and coming Brazilian superstar Robinho scored 6 goals in the duration of the competition.