FOR the second time in its history, the Copa America is being played outside South America, and for the second time, that guest host country is the United States.
The US had previously been gifted the Copa America Centenario in 2016 — a tournament that marked 100 years since the first edition held in Uruguay in 1916.
It’s now 108 years since that first tournament was played, making the Copa America the oldest and longest-running of the major international football tournaments that are still being played.
The British Home Championship involving England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland was the first international tournament in the late 1880s, but the size of South America and its development as a football-playing continent meant that by the time the first Copa America was played in the second decade of the 20th century, it went on to create the blueprint for tournaments such as the World Cup, and later, in 1960, the European Championship.
Many places claim to be the home of football, and though England was where the laws of the association game were drawn up, and the first international match was played between Scotland and England in Scotland in 1872, South America has a good claim to be the home of organised international football tournaments as we know them today.
One of the standout teams in those early days of international football was Uruguay.
Despite being the smallest of the 10 South American nations in Conmebol, nestled between southern Brazil and north-east Argentina, Uruguay were a major force, both in terms of their success as a team and involvement in the development of these tournaments.
They won six of the first 10 Copas, and would eventually host and win the first World Cup in 1930 on the back of Olympic gold medals in 1924 and 1928.
They didn’t take part in the next two World Cups, played in Europe, but when the tournament returned to South America when Brazil hosted in 1950, Uruguay reclaimed their title.
Fast forward to the present day, and Uruguay have not won a title since the 2011 Copa America, but enter this tournament with familiar names looking to change that.
These include Spurs midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, Federico Valverde of Real Madrid, Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez, and their all-time top scorer Luis Suarez, 37, who now plays his club football alongside Lionel Messi at Inter Miami in MLS.
It will like be Suarez’s last international tournament, and maybe Messi’s, too, though you wouldn’t bet against the Argentinian appearing at the 2026 World Cup.
South America is geographically favourable for international football tournaments, and the Conmebol World Cup qualifying section itself is one of the best international competitions.
Its 10-team round-robin league provides various geographical challenges as well as sporting ones, from the altitude of Bolivia and Peru to the heat and humidity of Colombia and Venezuela.
But for the 2024 edition of the Copa America, the whole of the Americas are represented. Not only is it hosted in the United States, but six teams from the Concacaf region will join the 10 Conmebol teams.
2026 World Cup joint-hosts, Canada, Mexico and the United States are all involved, as are Jamaica, Panama, and Costa Rica from the Central America and Caribbean regions.
As well as the 2026 World Cup, the 2025 Club World Cup is due to be hosted in the United States, should it go ahead, so the eyes of international football will be on North America for the foreseeable future.
This Copa America, however, may lack some of the tournament feel we’ve seen so far at the Euros in Germany.
For one, it is not being shown on any of the usual TV channels in Britain and the games kick off late at night or in the early hours of the morning for viewers in Europe.
Kick-off times are understandable, but even for those watching this tournament from a more favourable time zone, having 14 different host venues for just 16 teams spreads the tournament too thin, and the price of tickets for games in those venues is much higher than those for the Euros.
Most venues will only host two games, meaning there is no sense of place or belonging, and no base or footing for tournament-long activities. There will be a buzz around individual games in isolation, but that is unlikely to extend to the tournament as a whole.
It can be more difficult to create this kind of buzz in such a large country, but Brazil and Russia managed it for their World Cups in 2014 and 2018 respectively.
The even larger area of Canada, Mexico and the US combined might manage it in 2026 due to having 16 venues for 48 teams with each venue hosting at least four games, and most hosting six or more.
But wherever it is played and however it is organised, the Copa America has its own unique charm, and the United States is lucky to have hosting duties for a second time in eight years.
As Argentina began the defence of their title in the early hours of today morning with a 2-0 win against Canada, and guest hosts USA kick off their campaign when they face Bolivia at 11pm BST tomorrow, this tournament should prove to be a welcome addition to an already engrossing summer of international football.
