Football
Most Copa América Titles in History
The South American Championship is a unique international football tournament where street football meets organised chaos; passion meets fury. Which country has won the most Copa América championships?
Messi celebrating 2024 Copa America//Getty Images
CONMEBOL (South American Football Association) hosts the Copa América. The Copa América is the South American football championship. The inaugural tournament took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1916. Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 after extra time to win the 2024 Copa América at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
Lionel Messi’s side successfully defended their 2021 title and claimed back-to-back trophies for the first time since the early 1990s. Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil are the most successful countries in the tournament’s history. Brazil have won several titles, but despite being the most successful nation at FIFA World Cup tournaments, they are not the most successful team in the Copa América.
Uruguay last won the tournament in Argentina in 2011 and had an opportunity to surpass Argentina but must wait four years after losing to Canada in the semifinal. SportsBoom scoured the football archives to find which countries have won the most Copa América championships.
Image for first Championship of Copa America
Copa América: A History of the South American Championship
Argentina and Uruguay are the most successful teams in tournament history, winning the competition 31 times. Uruguay won the first Copa América after a mini-league format with no knockout stages in 1916. The 2022 FIFA World Cup champions became the second international team to win three successive international football tournaments. Spain was the first country to win three successive tournaments (Euro 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup, and Euro 2012).
From 1916 to 1975, the Copa América was the South American Football Championships. It is the oldest continental football competition in the world. The tournament is not closed off to Central and South American teams. Teams from North America and Asia have also participated since the 1990s, and there’s talk of expanding to African and European teams.
Most Copa América Titles
| Rank | Country | Copa América Championships | Runners-up |
| 1 | Argentina | 16 | 14 |
| 2 | Uruguay | 15 | 6 |
| 3 | Brazil | 9 | 12 |
| 4 | Paraguay | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Chile | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | Peru | 2 | 1 |
| 7 | Colombia | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | Bolivia | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Mexico | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Honduras | 0 | 0 |
Only eight countries have won the Copa América. Argentina and Uruguay are the most successful teams. They are the only teams with double-digit titles in the competition’s 108-year history. La Albiceleste has been runners-up fourteen times, eight times more than Los Charrúas. Brazil has nine titles. They finished second twelve times. Paraguay, Chile, and Peru have two Copa titles.
Paraguay finished second six times, while Chile lost four finals. Peru has played in three finals, winning two and losing one. Colombia and Bolivia each have won a championship. Mexico is the only country to make a final but never win a title. They lost finals in 1993 and 2001. Honduras is the only country to finish third (2001) but never reach the final.
Argentina and Uruguay are the best teams in Copa América history. They have played in a combined 51 Copa finals. Both countries have dominated the South American championships pre-and post-World War I and II. Brazil is the only country to rival the two South American powerhouses.
From the first tournament in 1916 to the 29th edition in 1967, only Peru (1939), Bolivia (1963), and Paraguay (1953) won titles outside of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Brazil, in fact, only won three championships (1919, 1922, 1949). La Albiceleste and Los Charrúas hoovered up the rest, plundering title after title.
Image for 2019 Copa América Champions
From 1994 to 2007, during Brazil’s second “Golden Era” of football, the Seleção Canarinho won four out of five Copa Américas. Since the 40th edition in Colombia in 2001. Brazil (three), Chile (twice), Argentina (twice), Colombia, and Uruguay have been victorious. Since the 38th Copa, there have been eleven championships, with nine countries making at least one final.
Argentina (six), Bolivia (two), Brazil (six), Chile (twice), Colombia (twice), Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay (twice) have all played in the big game. The only South American countries without Copa América titles are Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela.
Canada, Costa Rica, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, and the United States are countries from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) that have participated in the Copa. Japan and Qatar belong to the Asia Football Federation (AFC). Mexico is the only non-CONMEBOL member to reach the final. Canada lost to the eventual winners, Argentina, in the semifinal of their debut tournament.
Darío Franco scored the fastest goal in Copa América history. The former Argentina midfielder netted after 50 seconds against Brazil in 1991.
Luis Suárez is the oldest scorer in Copa América history. Suárez scored in his last game for Uruguay versus Canada, aged 37 years and 171 days.
Kaylan Geekie is a sports fanatic. He attended Durban High School before moving to Scotland, where he lived for 15 years. During his time in the United Kingdom, Kaylan graduated with a first-class BA Honours Degree in Sports Journalism at the University of the West of Scotland. Kaylan worked for nine years as the Match-Day Editor of SuperXV.com, reporting on Super Rugby, The Rugby Championship, the 2015 Men's Rugby World Cup and the 2017 British & Irish Lions series for the website.