Know the full Copa America winners list

The Copa America winners list is dominated by the Uruguay national football team who have won the tournament an impressive 15 times. Among other big South American footballing national teams, Argentina have also won the Copa America title 15 times whereas Brazil have lifted the trophy nine times.

One of the oldest international football tournaments, Copa America was first held in 1916 in honour of Argentina’s 100 years of independence. The tournament was initially hosted once every four years before it underwent numerous chance and became a quadrennial event in 2007.

Prior to 1967, the tournament was known as the South American football championship or America Cup, before it became pan-continental with members of the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL).

The Copa America tournament has had 47 editions already with the one exception of Copa América Centenario in 2016 when the United States hosted the celebration of the centenary of CONMEBOL and Copa America.

Chile went on to their second Copa America title at the Centenario while Argentina finished as the runners-up. Colombia had finished in third place while the hosts USA ended fourth.

Below is the full list of Copa America winners since 1967.

Copa America winners list: By Year

The tournament was played as the South American Championship between 1916 and 1967 before it became Copa America in 1975. The maiden Copa America edition had just four teams and the number of competitors remained the same until 1920.

When it became Copa America in 1975, the tournament had 10 teams competing in it. It was further increased to 12 teams from 1993. The initial years of the continental tournament remained haphazard in terms of venues and scheduling. Eventually, it was decided in 1986 that one country would host the entire tournament rather than the travelling. Consequently, between 1987 to 2001, Copa America was held every two years.

The tournament then became a three-year affair from 2001 to 2007 before the four-year gap returned in 2007. 

South American Football Championship winners list: By Year

Uruguay | 15 titles

The Uruguay national football team is quite evidently the joint-most successful team in the Copa America tournament with Argentina. They won this title four times in the second half of the tournament in the years 1983, 1987, 1995 and 2011. Prior to the Copa America era, Uruguay had won the South American Championship or the America Cup 11 times in 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1956 1959 and 1967.

Uruguay had won the title a whopping six times in the first 10 editions itself. Apart from that, La Celeste has also played in six final matches in Copa America, thereby making them one of the most proficient teams in the football tournament.

Argentina | 15 titles

Despite not dominating the initial five years of the Copa America tournament, Argentina soon became a pro at winning this continental tournament. Their first South American Championship title came in 1921 and they went on to win three more in that same decade in 1925, 1927, 1929.

Argentina’s fifth Copa America title came after a gap of eight years in 1937 and there wasn’t any stop La Albiceleste thereafter. They went on to win the title an unbelievable seven times in the next 22 years. Unfortunately, Argentina legend Diego Maradona – also known as the God of Football – could never win the Copa America despite appearing in three editions. Argentina had gone on to win the 1991 and 1993 Copa America titles under Gabriel Batistuta and Diego Simeone.

Argentina are also the current defending champions of the tournament after they defeated Brazil in the 2021 Copa America in Rio de Janeiro. Apart from 15 Copa America titles, Argentina have also reached the summit clash 14 times taking their final match tally to 29 – the most by any South American team in the tournament.

Current Argentine legend Lionel Messi has 13 international goals in the Copa America tournament.

Brazil | 9 titles

Unlike their record on the FIFA World Cup Winners list, the Brazilian team has hardly been successful in Copa America compared to Uruguay and Argentina. Barring their two championship wins in the initial five years, Brazil had largely been sleeping giants. In the pre-Copa America era, Brazil have won the America Cup three times. Their title win in 1949, where Brazil defeated Paraguay 7-0, is still the biggest Copa America final win ever.

The Samba magic really started to pull off in the late 1980s. The Brazil national team won their fourth Copa America title in 1989 and then won five titles from 1997 to 2019. They have also ended as runners-up 11 times.

Copa America winners list: By Number of titles

Eight different nations have won the Copa America tournament since its inception in 1916. Peru, Paraguay and Chile have won it twice while Bolivia and Colombia have each won it once.

FAQs

What are Brazil Copa América winners list?

The Brazil national team, which has the most number of FIFA World Cup titles, have won nine Copa America titles in the years 1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007 and 2019.  

Who were the Copa America 2019 winners?

The Copa America 2019 winners were Brazil. They had beaten Peru 3-1 at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium with Everton, Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison scoring the goals.

Who were Copa America 2021 winners?

Lionel Messi-led Argentina team were the Copa America winners in 2021. Argentina had beaten archrivals Brazil 1-0 in their backyard with Angel di Maria scoring the solitary goal.