CONMEBOL facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
CONMEBOL

CONMEBOL headquarters in Luque, Paraguay, as seen in 2014
Abbreviation	CONMEBOL CSF
Formation	9 July 1916; 109 years ago (1916-07-09)
Founded at	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Type	Sports organization
Headquarters	Luque, Paraguay
Region served	South America
Membership	10 member associations
Official languages	Portuguese Spanish
President	Alejandro Domínguez
Vice Presidents	Laureano González (1st) Claudio Tapia (2nd) Ramón Jesurún (3rd)
General Secretary	José Astigarraga
Treasurer	Rolando López
Parent organization	FIFA

CONMEBOL (also known as CSF) stands for the South American Football Confederation. It is the main group that manages football in South America. It's one of the six big football groups under FIFA, which is the world's football governing body. CONMEBOL is the oldest continental football group in the world. Its main office is in Luque, Paraguay.

CONMEBOL is in charge of organizing and running all the major international football tournaments in South America. It has 10 member countries, which is the smallest number of members among all the FIFA confederations.

Teams from CONMEBOL countries have won many big titles. They have won ten FIFA World Cups (Brazil five, Argentina three, and Uruguay two). Clubs from CONMEBOL have also won 22 Intercontinental Cups and four FIFA Club World Cups. Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay have each won two Olympic gold medals in football.

The World Cup qualifiers in CONMEBOL are known for being very tough. This is because of their simple round-robin system, where every team plays each other. Many of the world's best national teams are in South America. Also, the different climates and high altitudes make games challenging. Teams often have strong home crowds and very passionate fans.

History of CONMEBOL

In 1916, the first "Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol" (South American Football Championship) was held in Argentina. This tournament is now known as the "Copa América". It was created to celebrate 100 years since Argentina declared its independence.

The four countries that played in that first tournament met in Buenos Aires. They wanted to create an official group to help organize the championship. So, CONMEBOL was officially started on July 9, 1916. This idea came from Héctor Rivadavia Gómez of Uruguay. The football groups from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay all agreed. The first official meeting on December 15 of that year in Montevideo confirmed this decision.

Over the years, other South American football groups joined CONMEBOL. The last country to join was Venezuela in 1952. Some countries that are geographically in South America, like Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, are not part of CONMEBOL. These areas are part of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. This is mainly because of their history, culture, and sports connections with the Caribbean region. With only ten member nations, CONMEBOL is the smallest FIFA confederation. It is also the only one made up entirely of countries on the mainland of a continent, with no island nations.

Leadership

Current Leaders

As of September 14, 2021, here are the main leaders of CONMEBOL:

Name	Nationality	Position
Alejandro Dominguez	PAR	President
Laureano González	VEN	1st vice-president
Claudio Tapia	ARG	2nd vice-president
Ramón Jesurún	COL	3rd vice-president
José Astigarraga	PAR	General secretary

Members

Countries that are members of CONMEBOL

CONMEBOL has 10 member football associations. Each one represents a country in South America.

Code	Association	Founded	FIFA affiliation	CONMEBOL affiliation	IOC member	National teams
ARG	Argentina	1893	1912	1916	Yes	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
BOL	Bolivia	1925	1926	1926	Yes	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
BRA	Brazil	1914	1923	1916	Yes	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
CHI	Chile	1895	1913	1916	Yes	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
COL	Colombia	1924	1936	1936	Yes	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
ECU	Ecuador	1925	1926	1927	Yes	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
PAR	Paraguay	1906	1925	1921	Yes	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
PER	Peru	1922	1924	1925	Yes	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
URU	Uruguay	1900	1923	1916	Yes	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
VEN	Venezuela	1925	1952	1953	Yes	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17

Some other areas in South America are not part of CONMEBOL. They are members of other football groups or have no affiliation at all. These include:

•  Aruba (CONCACAF)
•  Bonaire (CONCACAF)
•  Curaçao (CONCACAF)
•  Falkland Islands
•  French Guiana (CONCACAF)
•  Guyana (CONCACAF)
•  Suriname (CONCACAF)
•  Trinidad and Tobago (CONCACAF)
•  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Competitions

CONMEBOL organizes many football tournaments for both national teams and clubs.

CONMEBOL Competitions

International Tournaments

The most important competition for men's national teams is the Copa América. It started in 1916. The Copa America is special because it's the only continental tournament that sometimes invites teams from other continents to play. For example, Japan and Qatar were invited to play in the 2019 Copa America.

CONMEBOL also holds national team competitions for younger players. These include the Under-20, Under-17, and Under-15 championships. For women's national teams, there is the Copa América Femenina for senior teams. There are also Under-20 and Under-17 championships for women.

In futsal (a type of indoor football), CONMEBOL organizes the Copa América de Futsal and the Campeonato Sudamericano de Futsal Sub-20. The Campeonato Sudamericano Femenino de Futsal is the women's version of the futsal tournament.

Club Tournaments

CONMEBOL also runs the two biggest club competitions in South America. The Copa Libertadores first started in 1960. The Copa Sudamericana was launched in 2002. It took the place of an older competition called the Supercopa Libertadores, which began in 1988. Another competition, the Copa CONMEBOL, ran from 1992 to 1999.

For women's club teams, CONMEBOL has the Copa Libertadores Femenina. This competition first started in 2009.

The Recopa Sudamericana is a yearly match played between the winners of the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana from the previous year. This match began in 1989.

The Intercontinental Cup was a competition organized with UEFA (the European football body). It was played between the winners of the Copa Libertadores and the UEFA Champions League.

Images for kids

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  CONMEBOL logo

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  CONMEBOL headquarters in Luque, Paraguay

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  Map showing CONMEBOL member countries

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  Countries that are members of CONMEBOL

See also

In Spanish: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol para niños