The 2001 South American Under-17 Football Championship was played in Peru from 2 to 18 March 2001.
The host of the competition was the city of Arequipa.
The 10 national teams were divided in 2 groups of 5 teams each.
The top 2 teams qualified for the final round.
The final round were played in the same system that first round, with the best 4 teams.