1916 South American Championship
Football tournament
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The 1916 South American Championship (Spanish: Campeonato Sudamericano 1916, Portuguese: Campeonato Sul-Americano de 1916) was the inaugural international association football championship for members of the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL). Hosted by Argentina, the competition ran from 2â17 July 1916 and was contested by the national teams of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.
Brazilian poster advertising the championship | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Argentina |
| Dates | 2â17 July |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Uruguay (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Argentina |
| Third place |  Brazil |
| Fourth place |  Chile |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 18 (3 per match) |
| Attendance | 84,200 (14,033 per match) |
| Top scorer | Isabelino GradÃn (3 goals) |
1917 â | |
During the competition, which was staged as part of celebrations to commemorate the centenary of Argentina's independence, the four associations of the participating teams met and founded CONMEBOL on 9 July.
The competition was due to conclude on 16 July but the final and decisive match between Argentina and Uruguay was suspended after five minutes following a riot among supporters. It concluded the following day when the teams drew 0â0 and Uruguay won the title by a single point.
Background
In 1910, the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA) organised a tournament to mark the 100th anniversary of the May Revolution. The Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo was contested by the national teams of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay and is considered to be a precursor to the South American Championship.[1] Argentina won the competition after defeating both Chile and Uruguay.[2]
Six years later, the AFA organised a second tournament, this time to celebrate the centenary of the Argentine Declaration of Independence. Alongside the three who had contested the Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo, Brazil were invited to compete and the South American Championship was born.[3]
Format
Squads
Venue
All matches were held at the Estadio GEBA in Buenos Aires except for the last match which was suspended before being completed at the Estadio Racing Club in Avellaneda.[4]
| Buenos Aires | Avellaneda |
|---|---|
| Estadio GEBA | Estadio Racing Club |
| Capacity: 18,000 | Capacity: 30,000 |
 |
 |
Summary
The competition began on 2 July when Uruguay defeated Chile 4â0. Four days later, hosts Argentina opened the competition with a 6â1 win against Chile. On 8 July, Chile drew 1â1 with Brazil in their last match of the competition. With half the matches played, Argentina and Uruguay were level with two points each at the top of the table.[4]
On 10 July, Argentina drew 1â1 with Brazil to go top of the table. Two days later, Uruguay leapfrogged Argentina after defeating Brazil 2â1 to set up a winner-takes-all final match against Argentina. The match began on 16 July at the Estadio GEBA but was suspended after five minutes with the score at 0â0 following supporters riots. It was continued the following day at the Estadio Racing Club in Avellaneda. No goals were scored as it finished goalless and Uruguay won the inagural title.[4][5]
Table
Results
| Uruguay | 4â0 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
|
[4] |
| Argentina | 6â1 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
|
[4] | Báez  44' |
| Brazil | 1â1 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
| Demósthenes 29' |
[4] | Salazar 85' |
| Uruguay | 2â1 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
|
[4] | Friedenreich 8' |
Goalscorers
There were 18 goals scored in 6 matches, for an average of 3 goals per match.
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
José Laguna
Alencar- Demósthenes
- Arthur Friedenreich
Telésforo Báez- Hernando Salazar
José Tognola
