2015 Copa América

The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body.

Twelve teams competed, the ten members of CONMEBOL and two guests from CONCACAF – Mexico and Jamaica, the latter of which competed in the Copa América for the first time. Uruguay were the defending champions, but were eliminated by the hosts in the quarter-finals. Chile won their first title by defeating Argentina in the final on a penalty shootout after a goalless draw. As winners, they qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.

Host country

Originally, it was to be hosted by Brazil, as suggested by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) in February 2011 due to CONMEBOL's rotation policy of tournaments being held in alphabetical order. However, due to the organization of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics in that country, Brazil decided against also hosting the Copa América. CONMEBOL’s president Nicolas Leoz had mentioned the possibility of the tournament being organized in Mexico (despite this country not being a member of CONMEBOL) as part of the federation's centenary celebrations. Brazil and Chile's Football Federations discussed the idea of swapping around the order of being hosts of the 2015 and 2019 tournaments. The swap was made official in May 2012.

Copa América

The Copa América (Spanish and Portuguese for "America Cup"), formerly known as the South American Football Championship (Campeonato Sud Americano de Football in Spanish), is an international football competition contested between the men's national football teams of CONMEBOL, determining the continental champion of South America. It is the oldest international continental football competition.

The current tournament format, established in 1993, involves twelve teams competing at venues in a host nation over a period of one month. As the confederation has only ten members, national teams from other FIFA confederations are invited to fill two other spaces, creating a 12-member group stage with three groups of four teams. From 1993 through 2015, five teams from CONCACAF and one team from AFC have participated. The nine appearances by Mexico (CONCACAF) are the most appearances for a non-CONMEBOL teams, while their two runner-up finishes are the highest for an invitee.

In 44 tournaments since 1916, eight of the ten CONMEBOL national teams have won the title, with only Ecuador and Venezuela yet to win. Uruguay has the most championships, with 15, while the current (2015) champion is Chile.

COPA

COPA may stand for:

Copa may refer to:

2015

2015 (MMXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (dominical letter D) of the Gregorian calendar, the 2015th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 15th year of the 3rd millennium, the 15th year of the 21st century, and the 6th year of the 2010s decade.

2015 was designated as:

Events

January

Chile

Coordinates: 30°S 71°W / 30°S 71°W / -30; -71

Chile (/ˈtʃɪli/;Spanish: [ˈtʃile]), officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish:  República de Chile ), is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.

The arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.