Copa America

The Copa's fascinating story, from its origins on the banks of the River Plate to Richarlison's last goal of the 2019 final. Pele, Maradona and Messi have graced it with their talent. War, military coups, earthquakes and Marxist guerrillas once threatened its survival, but it bounced back to become one of the greatest football shows on earth.

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Copa America: The History of the World's Oldest Continental Football Tournament tells the Copa's fascinating story from its origins on the banks of the River Plate to Richarlison's last goal of the 2019 final in the Maracana. Di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Neymar and Messi are just some of the players to have graced a tournament that pre-dates the World Cup by 14 years and the European Championships by half a century. On the pitch, there are fist fights, dubious refereeing decisions and sublime football. Off it, there is a South American backdrop of war, military coups, earthquakes, dictators, corruption and Marxist guerrillas. Through interviews with historians and former players, Copa America places the tournament in that turbulent history, looking, for example, at the contribution of black players in the early editions, and the long shadow cast by military juntas in the 1970s and 80s. The Copa sunk into oblivion in those dark years, but has bounced back to become one of the greatest football tournaments in the world.