Firsts · 1916

The oldest cup for nations

Real football fact

The facts

The first South American Championship was played in Argentina in July 1916, between Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.
It was a round robin: every team played every other team once. Uruguay won it, with two wins and a draw.
Today it is called the Copa América. It is the oldest continental tournament for national teams that is still played.

During the 1916 tournament, on 9 July, the four football associations met and founded CONMEBOL, South America’s football confederation.
Uruguay’s Isabelino Gradín was the top scorer, with 3 goals.
It was called the South American Championship until 1975, when it took the name Copa América.
The AFC Asian Cup began in 1956, in Hong Kong, and is the second-oldest continental championship.
The trophy was bought in 1916 from a jewellery shop in Buenos Aires, for 3,000 Swiss francs. It is a silver cup, 77 cm tall and 9 kg, on a three-level wooden base with a plaque for every winner.
Africa’s Cup of Nations began in 1957 (Egypt won, in Sudan), Europe’s championship in 1960 (the Soviet Union won, in France), CONCACAF’s in 1963 and Oceania’s in 1973.

In a round robin every game counts: a draw still earns a point, so never stop playing until the final whistle.