Argentina, meanwhile, lost its third consecutive final in a major tournament, following losses to Germany at the 2014 World Cup and Chile at the 2015 Copa América.

In February 2012, Alfredo Hawit, then Acting President of CONCACAF, announced that the competition was expected to take place in 2016, as a celebration of CONMEBOL's centennial.

In December 2014, Brazilian José Hawilla, the owner and founder of Traffic Sports, pleaded guilty to "corruption charges including racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering".

[9][10] Datisa held agreements for the commercial rights with CONMEBOL and CONCACAF and had its bank account frozen, placing the tournament in jeopardy.

[12] On October 23, 2015, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, and the hosting association U.S. Soccer Federation all confirmed that the tournament was going ahead as originally intended.

However, the list was not released and speculation regarding whether the tournament would be able to move forward arose because Interpol red notices were issued for the former presidents of the CONMEBOL and CONCACAF confederations in relation to the 2015 FIFA corruption case, including allegations that they accepted significant bribes in relation to the $112.5 million broadcasting deal for the event.

[33][34] The other four spots were given to Costa Rica, the champion of the Central American Football Union by winning the 2014 Copa Centroamericana; Jamaica, the champion of the Caribbean Football Union by winning the 2014 Caribbean Cup; and Haiti and Panama, the two playoff winners among the four highest finishers in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup not already qualified.

The opening ceremony of Copa América Centenario took place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara 9:00 pm EDT (UTC−4) on June 3, 2016, ahead of the opening match and featured musical performances by Colombian singer J Balvin, American singer Jason Derulo, and the Canadian band Magic!

In the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and third place match of the knockout stage, a penalty shoot-out was used to decide the winner if tied after 90 minutes.

[77] Claudio Bravo Mauricio Isla Nicolás Otamendi Gary Medel Jean Beausejour Javier Mascherano Arturo Vidal Charles Aránguiz Lionel Messi Eduardo Vargas Alexis Sánchez

The Nike Ordem Ciento was announced as the official Copa América Centenario match ball on February 21, 2016.

Copa América organizers released the following statement via Twitter:This evening during the pre-match ceremony, due to human error, we inadvertently played the incorrect National Anthem [sic].

We will work with all parties involved to ensure such an error this does not occur again.Uruguayan midfielder Diego Fagúndez said the incident showed "much disrespect".

[113] On June 6, Colombian nationals heavily criticized Adidas for misspelling the country name in an advertisement, substituting "Columbia" for "Colombia".

The assistant referee made the call, but it appeared that Gutiérrez had tucked his arm behind his back, and the ball hit off his shoulder.

Arturo Vidal converted the ensuing penalty at the 90'+10' mark (eight minutes of stoppage time were added to the second half due to an injury to Ronald Eguino)[117][118] to secure the three points for Chile.

After a lengthy discussion between the referee and his assistant, the goal was allowed to stand, and Brazil went on to lose 1–0, resulting in their elimination from the tournament.

[120] The tournament's organizers have been criticized for setting high ticket prices that have resulted in under-capacity crowds in Seattle and Chicago for United States matches.