Soccer (football)

Copa América – history in numbers

In a little more than three months Copa América, one of the most prestigious international football competitions in the world, will kick off. Let’s have a little preview of what awaits us by looking at the fascinating data from the tournament’s rich history! Find out more with STATSCORE.

How old is Copa América?

Copa América is 104 years old! Yes, it’s been around for a while! In fact, it’s the oldest international football competition on the planet.

The first edition of the tournament was held 104 years ago, in 1916, organised by Argentina to celebrate 100 years of the country’s independence. Four teams took part in the competition: Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Chile. It was played in the form of a round-robin tournament, and it was won by Uruguay.

This Campeonato Sudamericano de Football, as it was then called, turned out to be the first edition of what is now known as Copa América (the name of the competition was formally changed in 1975).

Who won the most Copa America titles?

Until now, 46 stagings of the tournament were held, and 8 of the 10 CONMEBOL national teams won at least one edition.

  • Uruguay is the most successful team with 15 triumphs (1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1956, 1959 in Ecuador, 1967, 1983, 1987, 1995, 2011).
  • Argentina has 14 titles, while Brazil won the competition 9 times.
  • Paraguay, Chile, and Peru each won 2 stagings of the event. Colombia and Bolivia each triumphed once.
  • Ecuador and Venezuela are the two CONMEBOL teams which are yet to win their first titles.

Statistical highlights of Copa América

Top scorers, highest numbers of goals scored, and biggest wins… Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting stats from the history of the competition.

Teams stats

  • Most Copa América appearances – Uruguay, 44;
  • Most appearances in final games – Argentina, 28;
  • Most matches played – Uruguay, 200;
  • Most wins – Argentina, 120;
  • Most goals scored – Argentina, 455;
  • Highest number of consecutive championships – Argentina, 3 (1945, 1946, 1947);
  • Biggest victory – Argentina 12–0 Ecuador (1942).

Individual stats

  • Most goals scored (overall) – Norberto Méndez (Argentina), Zizinho (Brazil) – 17;
  • Most goals scored (single tournament) – Jair da Rosa (Brazil), Humberto Maschio (Argentina) and Javier Ambrois (Uruguay) – 9;
  • Most goals in a single match – Héctor Scarone (Uruguay), Juan Marvezzi (Argentina), Evaristo de Macedo (Brazil) – 5;
  • Most appearances (overall) – Sergio Livingstone (Chile) – 34 (within 7 editions)
  • Most assists (overall) – Leo Messi (Argentina) – 12
  • Coach with most games – Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) – 44
  • Most successful coach – Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) – 6 titles (1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955 and 1957)
  • Most man of the match awards – Leo Messi (Argentina) – 10 wins.

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Argentina hosted the competition 9 times

Argentina is the country that has hosted Copa América most often. This year the competition will be held there for the 10th time. It will also be the first time when the games will be hosted by two countries (Argentina and Colombia).

Uruguay and Chile each hosted the event 7 times.

The United States is the only non-CONMEBOL association to have hosted the event (in 2016).

Three times in history (1975, 1979, 1983) there were no hosts, and each team played their home games in their own country.

Copa América welcomes the world

The current format of the competition features 12 teams, but the thing is… that there are only 10 confederations registered in CONMEBOL. That’s why since 1993 two teams from other federations (most often CONCACAF, but not only) have been invited to take part in the competition. The special 2016 edition, organised to celebrate 100 years of the history of Copa América, was contested by 10 CONMEBOL teams, and 6 invitees.

Throughout the history, 9 different nations have received the invitation: Costa Rica (1997, 2001, 2004, 2011, 2016), Honduras (2001), Japan (1999, 2019), Jamaica (2015, 2016), Mexico (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016), Haiti (2016), Panama (2016), the United States (1993, 1995, 2007, 2016), Qatar (2019, 2020) and Australia (2020).

Mexico turned up to be the most successful invitee, reaching the final of the competition twice.

The tournament surely has a rich and fascinating history. That’s why we can’t wait to see what happens this year at Copa América! And if you’re interested in sports data and stats, let’s stay in touch!

Moreover, the competition is also a great opportunity for bookmakers, as it is one of the most popular sports tournaments in the world – with its favourites and black horses!

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