The Copa America Football Tournament
The Copa America is South American’s equivalent of the European Championships. It is the world’s oldest surviving football tournament, having been established in 1916. Brazil are the current holders of the Copa America trophy after they defeated rivals Argentina in 2007. Read on to discover the historical origins of the tournament, how the Copa America is organized and finally how the tournament was won last time around.
Historical Origins of the Copa America
The first tournament took place in July 1916. It was held in Argentina as a part of the country’s centenary independence celebrations. With only four teams participating, the winner was decided after all the teams played each other once.
Hosts Argentina were joined in the tournament by Chile, Uruguay and Brazil. The final match in this series was between Argentina and Uruguay and it finished 0-0 and this meant that the first ever tournament was won by Uruguay.
The tournament was originally called the South American Championship of Nations and was known as this until it was renamed the Copa America in 1975.
Over the years the tournament as evolved to feature up to twelve teams in the tournament. Prior to the last tournament in 2007 the Copa America was held every two years, but due to increasing fixture congestion and the large number of South American players that now feature for European teams the tournament will now take place every four years.
Organization of the Copa America
The Copa America tournament has evolved over many years to its current format.
In the last tournament held in Venezuela there were twelve teams that took part. Each time there are ten teams that qualify automatically and two teams that are officially invited. The automatic teams include previous winners such as Brazil, Argentina and Chile. In the most recent competition the United States and Mexico accepted invitations to participate.
The twelve teams are divided into three groups of four who then all play each other once. Teams collect three points for a win, one point for a draw and receive no points for a defeat. The top two teams in each group then qualify for the quarter finals along with two of the three teams that finished third. This is determined by the points that they accumulated over the group matches.
The second part of the tournament is a straight knockout. Four teams advance to the semi-finals before the winners of those matches meet in the Final. Each game is decided firstly through extra time periods of thirty minutes and then a penalty shoot out should the scores be level at the end of the normal period of play.
The Copa America In 2007
The most recent tournament was held in Venezuela in 2007. The organizers of the Copa America have decided that the hosting of the tournament should rotate through the ten members alphabetically and 2007 represented the end of the first cycle and the first time that the Venezuelans had played host.
The tournament was regarded as an entertaining spectacle with lots of goals scored in the group stages of the tournament. Pre-tournament favorites Argentina lived up to their billing by defeating the United States 4-1 and Columbia 4-2. They eased through to the Final by defeating Peru 4-0 and Mexico 3-0. However they were defeated by Brazil after they also displayed great skills and team play as well.
Brazil defeated Argentina 3-0 to lift the Copa America for the eight time.
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I wouldn’t blame you. England’s certainly gone to shit.. but Cornwall couldn’t be free like that. It would be too small and too low on money. (as well as being in England since many thousands of years ago)
Cornwall? Erm… that’s part of England….
Only by occupation. One day we will be free.
We are,
the CONMEBOL Copa America football tournament is older than the FIFA World Cup. the South American continental football tournament was first played in 1916 as the unofficial tournament while the FIFA World Cup was first played in 1930.
It varies. It was held every 2 years from 1987 to 2001 and then every 3 years in 2004 and 2007. Now the next one is 4 years from now in 2011.
Wiki says "It was normally held every two years (but the intervals sometimes changed) until 2007, when CONMEBOL decided that the tournament would henceforth be held every four years, although provision was made for extraordinary stagings of the tournament if the ten national football federations wish it."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copa_Am%C3%A9rica
Conmebol.com says "It was resolved that the Copa America will be disputed every four years from now on, so the following tournament after Venezuela will be in 2011. Nevertheless, if conditions were to exist so that an extraordinary Copa America can be played, the possibility will be evaluated, provided it fills the expectations and safeguards the interest of the ten associations."
http://www.conmebol.com/articulos_ver.jsp?id=60246&slangab=E
I don’t mind Gordon Browns Scottish. I care that hes a complete knob jockey though.
The problem is, due to the Scottish Parliament and New Labour, Westminster has next to no control over Scotland.
If the Welsh, NI and Scottish have parliaments separate from Westminster, England is left. So Westminster is like England’s parliament, but it isn’t because non-english MPs have their say.
An English parliament would solve everything though. Problem is, where to put it.
Scotland is being used as an example as to why an English parliament might be needed. Its not anti-Scotish, if anything its supporting the idea of the Scotish parliament and wants England to have one too.
Scottish MPs at Westminter are there to govern the United Kingdom’s affairs as Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. I can see where you are coming from though, but Westminster is the UK government, not the english government. what annoys me is the fact that english people arent too bothered about the welsh or northern irish “ruling” england. Instead of complaining that scots are ruling you, you should be demanding a seperate english government from the UK government!
Interestingly Celtic and Rangers are both applying to join the English League mainly because the Scottish League is poor, unpopular and internationally insignificant.
..Politicians could learn a lot from football!