The Copa America is the oldest competition of football national teams in the
world. It was played for the first time in a test edition in 1910, but had its first
official edition between July 2 and 17, 1916, as part of the celebrations of the
centennial of Argentinas independence. In addition to the host country, Chile,
Uruguay and Brazil also participated.
From its first edition until 1967, the tournament was called the South American
National Team Championship. In the first edition, Uruguay won the title of
Champion, after a 0-0 draw against Argentina in the final played at the stadium
of Racing Club de Avellaneda.
From 1975, in its 30th edition, the tournament was officially renamed Copa
América. With the change of name there were also changes in the system of
dispute. The points system was replaced by a format similar to that of the FIFA
World Cup with the teams divided into groups, followed by qualifying phases.