By the early 20th century, football was growing in popularity, and the first international competition held among national teams of the continent occurred in 1910[8] when Argentina organized an event to commemorate the centenary of the May Revolution.

After a flu outbreak in Rio de Janeiro canceled the tournament in 1918,[10] Brazil hosted the tournament in 1919 and was crowned champion for the first time after defeating the defending champions 1–0 in a playoff match to decide the title, while the Chilean city of Viña del Mar would host the 1920 event which was won by Uruguay.

After losing the 1928 final at the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam, Argentina would gain revenge in the 1929 South American Championship by defeating the Uruguayans in the last, decisive match.

In 1941, Chile hosted that year's edition in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Santiago for which the capacity of the newly built Estadio Nacional was expanded from 30,000 to 70,000 spectators.

Despite the large investment and initial success of the team, the Chileans would be defeated in the last match by eventual champions Argentina.

Uruguay would defeat a surprisingly strong Chilean squad who made it to the final, disposing of the powerful Brazil 4–0 on the group stage.

Brazil lifted its first official international title since the 1970 FIFA World Cup upon winning the 1989 Copa América held on home soil.

Argentina, in turn, won the Copa América after 32 long years in 1991 in Chile, thanks to a refreshed squad led by the prolific goalscorer Gabriel Batistuta.

Along with the usual ten teams, CONMEBOL invited two countries from CONCACAF to participate, Mexico and the United States.

However, the 2001 Copa América saw one of the biggest surprises of the history of the sport as Honduras eliminated Brazil in the quarterfinals.

Running from an embarrassing performance in 2001, Brazil reestablished itself in the South American pantheon after defeating Argentina, on penalties, in order to win the 2004 competition held in Peru.

Uruguay would go on defeating Peru 2–0 in the semis to reach the finals and overpower Paraguay 3–0, thus winning the trophy on Argentinean soil for the third time and second in a row.

[13] The 2016 edition broke tournament records for attendance, with 1.5 million total spectators and an average of 46,000 per match through the semi-finals.

[14] Brazil hosted the 2019 edition, which was played in the normal four-year cycle, and won their ninth title by defeating Peru in the final at the renovated Maracanã Stadium.

[15] CONMEBOL approved a permanent switch from odd to even years beginning with the 2020 Copa América to move in line with the UEFA European Championship, which would be jointly hosted by Argentina and Colombia and split into two groups.

[17] Colombia requested that the tournament be moved to November 2021 due to widespread protests and increased COVID-19 cases, but withdrew after CONMEBOL rejected a second postponement.

[18] 13 days prior to the opening match, the entire tournament was moved to Brazil due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in Argentina.

[19] The 2021 Copa América was played by 10 teams with no spectators at most matches due to the pandemic; the final at the Maracanã was limited to 10 percent of capacity.

[21][22] In 1984, CONMEBOL adopted the policy of rotating the right to host the Copa América amongst the ten member confederations.

[23] Chile, Mexico and the United States expressed interest in hosting the next tournament, but the CONMEBOL Executive Committee decided to continue the execution of the rotation, giving priority of the organization to each of its member associations; each association confirms whether they will host an edition or not, having no obligation to do so.

Argentina confirmed on 24 November 2008, via representatives of the Argentine Football Association, that it would host the 2011 Copa América.

Although CONMEBOL President Nicolas Leoz proposed hosting the continental tournament in Mexico (a member of the CONCACAF federation) and board members Brazil and Chile discussed the possibility of exchanging the 2015 and 2019 tournaments, it was decided and confirmed by the CBF in February 2011 that the 2015 Copa América would remain in Brazil.

The centennial edition of the tournament, Copa América Centenario, took place in June 2016, and was held in the United States.

Since the competition's rebranding in 1975, there has been only one occasion when one of those teams missed out on a tournament: Argentina withdrew from the 2001 edition due to scheduling and security disagreements.

Owing to this somewhat limited number of available participants, countries from other continents have usually been invited to make up the 12 teams necessary for the current tournament format since 1993.

[29] The current Copa América trophy was purchased in 1916 from "Casa Escasany", a jewelry shop in Buenos Aires, at the cost of 3,000 Swiss francs.

[30] The Copa América trophy is a 9 kg (20 lb) weight and 77 cm (30 in) tall silver ornament, with a 3-level wooden base which contains several plaques.

[34] The commemorative Copa América Centenario trophy was designed by Epico Studios in the United States and manufactured by London Workshops of Thomas Lyte in England.

[37] The trophy is named after the country that hosted the 1997 Copa América, with a small Bolivian flag attached on one of its sides.