How long is the Copa America?

After recent changes in the schedule, the Copa America now takes place in the same time frame as the UEFA Euro tournament.

The Copa America is an international competition that brings together the best South American football in the world. All 10 CONMEBOL teams, including powerhouses like Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, compete in the Copa America alongside several CONCACAF teams until one nation is crowned.

There have been 47 iterations of the Copa America since its inception in 1916, and eight out of 10 CONMEBOL teams have claimed at least one victory in the past century. Argentina and Uruguay each have 15 titles, leading all other participating countries. With every new Copa America tournament, however, a historic list of winners keeps emerging.

So, how often does a legendary tournament take place?

Currently, the Copa America takes place every four years. As of 2020, the tournament has undergone a change of age to effectively align with the EUFA Euro tournament. The 2020 Copa America was pushed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the four-year schedule remains; the next Copa America will appear in the summer of 2024.

The decision made the Copa America schedule once easier to follow and predict. In the past, competition occurred at unexpected times; two Copa America tournaments may take place in consecutive years or after a gap of eight years. There was a special Copa America Centenario in 2016, one year after the 2015 Copa America.

Moving forward, the tournament’s schedule will be much simpler, starting with the 2024 Copa America.

Argentina won the last Copa America. Lionel Messi lifted his first major international trophy after defeating Brazil in the 2021 Copa America final. Before this tournament, Messi and Argentina had lost twice in a row in the finals of the Copa America and were beaten by Chile in 2015 and 2016.

The win marked Argentina’s 15th Copa America title, and the defending champions will aim to break Uruguay and become the most successful country to ever compete in the Copa America this summer.