CONMEBOL

South American Football Confederation

Abbreviation	CONMEBOL CSF
Formation	9 July 1916; 103 years ago (1916-07-09)
Type	Sports organisation
Headquarters	Luque (Gran Asunción), Paraguay
Coordinates	25°15′38″S 57°30′58″W / 25.26056°S 57.51611°W / -25.26056; -57.51611
Region served	South America
Membership	10 member associations
Official languages	Spanish, Portuguese
President	Alejandro Domínguez
Vice Presidents	Laureano González (1st) Claudio Tapia (2nd) Arturo Salah (3rd)
Treasurer	Rolando López
Parent organization	FIFA
Website	www.conmebol.com

FIFA confederations
AFC, CAF, CONCACAF
CONMEBOL, OFC, UEFA
v t e

The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, /ˈkɒnmɪbɒl/; Spanish: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol;^[1] Portuguese: Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol^[2] or CSF) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana), and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Paraguay, near Asunción. CONMEBOL is responsible for the organization and governance of South American football's major international tournaments. With 10 member football associations, it has the fewest members of all the confederations in FIFA.

CONMEBOL national teams have won nine FIFA World Cups (Brazil five, Uruguay two, and Argentina two), and CONMEBOL clubs have won 22 Intercontinental Cups and four FIFA Club World Cups. Argentina and Uruguay have won two Olympic gold medals each, and Brazil has won one Olympic gold medal. It is considered one of the strongest confederations in the world.

The World Cup qualifiers of CONMEBOL have been described as the "toughest qualifiers in the world" for their simple round-robin system, entry of some of the top national teams in the world, leveling of the weaker national teams, climate conditions, geographic conditions, strong home stands, and passionate supporters.^[3][4] Currently,^[when?] the Confederation is planning to create the first women's qualification to the FIFA Women's World Cup to replace the Copa América Femenina.

Juan Ángel Napout (Paraguay) was the president of CONMEBOL until 3 December 2015 when he was arrested in a raid in Switzerland as part of the U.S. Justice Department's bribery case involving FIFA. Wilmar Valdez (Uruguay) was interim president until 26 January 2016 when Alejandro Domínguez (Paraguay) was elected president. The Vice presidents are Ramón Jesurum (Colombia), Laureano González (Venezuela), and Arturo Salah (Chile).

History

In 1916, the first edition of the "Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol" (South-American Football Championship), now known as the "Copa América", was contested in Argentina to commemorate the centenary of the Argentine Declaration of Independence. The four participating associations of that tournament gathered together in Buenos Aires in order to officially create a governing body to facilitate the organization of the tournament. Thus, CONMEBOL was founded on 9 July 1916 under the initiative of Uruguayan Héctor Rivadavia Gómez, but approved by the football associations of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. The first Constitutional Congress on 15 December of that same year, which took place in Montevideo, ratified the decision.

Over the years, the other football associations in South America joined, with the last being Venezuela in 1952. Guyana, Suriname, and the French overseas department of French Guiana, while geographically in South America, are not part of CONMEBOL. Consisting of a French territory, a former British territory, and a former Dutch territory, they are part of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), mainly due to historical, cultural, and sporting reasons. With ten member nations, CONMEBOL is the smallest and the only fully continental land-based FIFA confederation (no insular countries or associates from different continents).

Leadership

Executive Committee

Name	Nationality	Position
Alejandro Dominguez	Paraguay	President[5][6]
Ramón Jesurún	Colombia	Vice President[7]
Laureano González	Venezuela	2nd Vice President
Arturo Salah	Chile	3rd Vice President
Jose Astigarraga	Paraguay	General secretary[8]

Past presidents

Headquarters of CONMEBOL in Luque, Paraguay

• 1916–1936 Héctor Rivadavia Gómez
• 1936–1939 Luis O. Salesi
• 1939–1955 Luis Valenzuela Hermosilla
• 1955–1957 Carlos Dittborn Pinto
• 1957–1959 José Ramos de Freitas
• 1959–1961 Fermín Sorhueta
• 1961–1966 Raúl H. Colombo
• 1966–1986 Teófilo Salinas Fuller
• 1986–2013 Nicolás Léoz
• 2013–2014 Eugenio Figueredo
• 2014–2015 Juan Ángel Napout
• 2015–2016 Wilmar Valdez (interim – 2 months)
• 2016–present Alejandro Domínguez

Members

Countries that are members of CONMEBOL

Code	Association	Founded	Joined	National team	Top division
ARG	Argentina	1893	1916	(M, W)	Superliga Argentina
BOL	Bolivia	1925	1926	(M, W)	División Profesional
BRA	Brazil	1914	1916	(M, W)	Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
CHI	Chile	1895	1916	(M, W)	Primera División
COL	Colombia	1924	1936	(M, W)	Primera A
ECU	Ecuador	1925	1927	(M, W)	Serie A
PAR	Paraguay	1906	1921	(M, W)	División Profesional
PER	Peru	1922	1925	(M, W)	Primera División
URU	Uruguay	1900	1916	(M, W)	Primera División
VEN	Venezuela	1926	1952	(M, W)	Primera División

Competitions

CONMEBOL competitions

International

The main competition for men's national teams is the Copa América, started in 1916. CONMEBOL also runs national competitions at Under-20, Under-17 and Under-15 levels. For women's national teams, CONMEBOL operates the Copa América Femenina for senior national sides, as well as Under-20 and Under-17 championships.

In futsal, there is the Copa América de Futsal and Campeonato Sudamericano de Futsal Sub-20. The Campeonato Sudamericano Femenino de Futsal is the women's equivalent to the man's tournament.

Club

CONMEBOL also runs the two main club competitions in South America: the Copa Libertadores was first held in 1960 and the Copa Sudamericana was launched by CONMEBOL in 2002 as an indirect successor to the Supercopa Libertadores (begun in 1988). A third competition, the Copa CONMEBOL, started in 1992 and was abolished in 1999. In women's football, CONMEBOL also conducts the Copa Libertadores Femenina for club teams. The competition was first held in 2009.

The Recopa Sudamericana pits the past year's winners of the Copa Libertadores against the winners of the Copa Sudamericana (previously the winners of the Supercopa Libertadores) and came into being in 1989.

The Intercontinental Cup was jointly organised with UEFA between the Copa Libertadores and the UEFA Champions League winners.

Current title holders

Competition	Champion	Title	Runner-up	Next Edition
National teams (Men)
Copa América	Brazil	9th	Peru	2020
CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament	Argentina	5th	Brazil	2024
South American Under-20 Championship	Ecuador	1st	Argentina	2021
South American Under-17 Championship	Argentina	4th	Chile	2021
South American Under-15 Championship	Brazil	5th	Argentina	2021
Copa América de Futsal	Brazil	10th	Argentina	2020
FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifiers	Brazil	1st	Argentina	2020
South American Futsal League	Brazil	1st	Argentina	2020
South American Under-20 Futsal Championship	Brazil	7th	Argentina	2020
South American Under-17 Futsal Championship	Brazil	2nd	Argentina	2020
Copa América de Beach Soccer	Brazil	2nd	Paraguay	2020
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers	Brazil	7th	Uruguay	2021
South American Beach Soccer League	Brazil	2nd	Paraguay	2020
South American Under-20 Beach Soccer Championship	Argentina	1st	Brazil	2021
National teams (Women)
Copa América Femenina	Brazil	7th	Chile	2022
South American Under-20 Women's Football Championship	Brazil	8th	Paraguay	2020
South American Under-17 Women's Football Championship	Brazil	3rd	Colombia	2020
Copa América Femenina de Futsal	Brazil	6th	Argentina	2021
South American Under-20 Women's Futsal Championship	Brazil	2nd	Colombia	2020
Clubs (Men)
Copa Libertadores	Flamengo	2nd	River Plate	2020
Copa Sudamericana	Independiente del Valle	1st	Colón	2020
Recopa Sudamericana	Flamengo	1st	Independiente del Valle	2021
U-20 Copa Libertadores	Independiente del Valle	1st	River Plate	2022
Copa Libertadores de Futsal	Carlos Barbosa	5th	Cerro Porteño	2020
Copa Libertadores de Beach Soccer	Vasco da Gama	3rd	Cerro Porteño	2020
Clubs (Women)
Copa Libertadores Femenina	Corinthians	1st	Ferroviária	2020
Copa Libertadores Femenina de Futsal	Cianorte	1st	Independiente	2020

Rankings

National teams

Top ranked men's national teams

Men's national teams FIFA Rankings				Women's national teams FIFA Rankings
Rank	Nation	Points		Rank	Nation	Points
3	Brazil	1712		10	Brazil	1938
5	Uruguay	1645		26	Colombia	1703
9	Argentina	1623		34	Argentina	1664
10	Colombia	1622		38	Chile	1621
17	Chile	1579		48	Paraguay	1494
21	Peru	1544		58	Venezuela	1421
25	Venezuela	1517		63	Ecuador	1393
40	Paraguay	1461		65	Peru	1376
63	Ecuador	1368		75	Uruguay	1347
76	Bolivia	1324		92	Bolivia	1236

* Inactive for more than 18 months and therefore not ranked
Men's update: 28 November 2019^[11]
Women's update: 12 July 2019^[12]

Clubs

Football Database rankings

Rank	Club	Points
17	Palmeiras	1793
28	River Plate	1747
33	Boca Juniors	1731
37	Racing	1722
43	Flamengo	1705
44	Defensa y Justicia	1701
45	Grêmio	1695
46	Olimpia	1688
74	Athletico Paranaense	1649
76	Internacional	1644

Last updated: 10 March 2019^[13]

IFFHS

Zonal Ranking	IFFHS Ranking	Club	Points
1	6	Palmeiras	264
2	7	Junior	262
3	8	River Plate	261
4	10	Santa Fe	237
5	11	Grêmio	234
6	13	Atlético Nacional	229
7	22	Boca Juniors	200
8	23	Cruzeiro	197
9	36	Nacional	184
10	41	Athletico Paranaense	178

Last updated on: 12 March 2019 – [1]

Beach soccer national teams

Men's national teams BSWW Rankings
Rank	Nation	Points
1	Brazil	3613
8	Paraguay	1467
18	Ecuador	710
23	Argentina	571
28	Chile	511
30	Uruguay	494
35	Peru	378
36	Venezuela	364
40	Colombia	276
44	Bolivia	228

Men's update: 23 September 2018^[14]

Major Tournaments

FIFA World Cup

Legend

• 1st – Champion
• 2nd – Runner-up
•  3rd  – Third place^[15]
• 4th – Fourth place
• QF – Quarterfinals
• R16 – Round of 16 (since 1986: knockout round of 16)
• R2 – Second round (for the 1974, 1978, and 1982 tournaments, which had two group stages)
• GS – Group stage (in the 1950, 1974, 1978, and 1982 tournaments, which had two group stages, this refers to the first group stage)
• 1S – First Knockout Stage (1934–1938 Single-elimination tournament)
• Q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
•  •  – Did not qualify
•     – Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
•     – Hosts

Team	1930	1934	1938	1950	1954	1958	1962	1966	1970	1974	1978	1982	1986	1990	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018	2022	Total
Argentina	2nd	1S				GS	GS	QF	•	R2	1st	R2	1st	2nd	R16	QF	GS	QF	QF	2nd	R16		17
Bolivia	GS			GS		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•		3
Brazil	GS	1S	3rd	2nd	QF	1st	1st	GS	1st	4th	3rd	R2	QF	R16	1st	2nd	1st	QF	QF	4th	QF		21
Chile	GS			GS	•	•	3rd	GS	•	GS	•	GS	•	•		R16	•	•	R16	R16	•		9
Colombia						•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	R16	GS	GS	•	•	•	QF	R16		6
Ecuador							•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	R16	•	GS	•		3
Paraguay	GS			GS	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	R16	•	•	R16	R16	GS	QF	•	•		8
Peru	GS					•	•	•	QF	•	R2	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS		5
Uruguay	1st			1st	4th	•	GS	QF	4th	GS	•	•	R16	R16	•	•	GS	•	4th	R16	QF		13
Venezuela								•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•		0
Total	7	2	1	5	2	3	5	4	3	4	3	4	4	4	4	5	5	4	5	6	5	TBD	85

FIFA Women's World Cup

Team	1991	1995	1999	2003	2007	2011	2015	2019	Total
Argentina		•	•	GS	GS	•	•	GS	3
Bolivia		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	0
Brazil	GS	GS	3rd	QF	2nd	QF	R16	R16	8
Chile	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	1
Colombia			•	•	•	GS	R16	•	2
Ecuador		•	•	•	•	•	GS	•	1
Paraguay			•	•	•	•	•	•	0
Peru			•	•	•	•	•	•	0
Uruguay			•	•	•	•	•	•	0
Venezuela	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	0
Total	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	3

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

Legend

• 1st — Champions
• 2nd — Runners-up
• 3rd — Third place
• 4th — Fourth place
• QF — Quarter-finals
• GS — Group stage
•  •  — Did not qualify
•     — Did not enter / Withdrew / To be determined
• XX — Country did not exist or national team was inactive
•    — Hosts
• q — Qualified for upcoming tournament

For each tournament, the flag of the host country and the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.

Team	2002 (12)	2004 (12)	2006 (16)	2008 (16)	2010 (16)	2012 (16)	2014 (16)	2016 (16)	2018 (16)	2020 (16)	Total
Argentina	•	•	GS	GS	•	GS	•	•	•	•	3
Brazil	4th	4th	3rd	QF	GS	GS	GS	QF	GS		9
Chile	•	•	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
Colombia	•	•	•	•	4th	•	•	•	•		1
Paraguay	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	•	GS	•	2
Venezuela	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	•		1
Total	1	1	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	19

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

Legend

• 1st – Champions
• 2nd – Runners-up
• 3rd – Third place
• 4th – Fourth place
• QF – Quarterfinals
• GS – Group stage
• R1 – Round 1, Group stage
•  •  – Did not qualify
•  ×  – Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
• XX – Country did not exist or national team was inactive
•    – Hosts
• q – Qualified for upcoming tournament

For each tournament, the flag of the host country and the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.

Team	2008 (16)	2010 (16)	2012 (16)	2014 (16)	2016 (16)	2018 (16)	2020 (16)	Total
Brazil	R1	QF	QF	•	GS	GS		5
Chile	•	R1	•	•	•	•		1
Colombia	R1	•	R1	GS	•	GS		4
Paraguay	R1	•	•	GS	GS	•		3
Uruguay	•	•	R1	•	•	GS		2
Venezuela	•	R1	•	4th	4th	•		3
Total	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	21

FIFA Futsal World Cup

Legend

• 1st – Champions
• 2nd – Runners-up
• 3rd – Third place
• 4th – Fourth place
• QF – Quarterfinals
• R2 – Round 2 (1989–2008, second group stage, top 8; 2012–present: knockout round of 16)
• R1 — Round 1
• Q — Qualified for upcoming tournament
•    – Hosts

Nation	1989	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	Years
Argentina	R2	R2	R1	R2	4th	R2	QF	1st		8
Brazil	1st	1st	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	1st	R2		8
Colombia							4th	R2		2
Paraguay	R2	R1			R1	R2	R2	QF		6
Uruguay			R2	R1		R1				3
Nations	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup

Legend

• 1st – Champions
• 2nd – Runners-up
• 3rd – Third place
• 4th – Fourth place
• QF – Quarterfinals (1999–2001, 2004–present)
• R1 – Round 1
• q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
•  ••  – Qualified but withdrew
•  •  – Did not qualify
•     – Hosts

	1995 (8)	1996 (8)	1997 (8)	1998 (10)	1999 (12)	2000 (12)	2001 (12)	2002 (8)	2003 (8)	2004 (12)	2005 (12)	2006 (12)	2007 (16)	2008 (16)	2009 (16)	2011 (16)	2013 (16)	2015 (16)	2017 (16)	2019 (16)	2021 (16)	Total Participations
Argentina	R1 7th	R1 8th	4th	R1 8th	•	R1 10th	3rd	R1 8th	•	QF 7th	QF 8th	QF 5th	R1 11th	QF 5th	R1 9th	R1 11th	QF 8th	R1 12th	•	•		16/20
Brazil	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	4th	1st	1st	1st	3rd	1st	1st	1st	1st	2nd	3rd	QF 5th	1st	QF 5th		20/20
Chile	•	•	•	R1 9th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•		1/20
Ecuador	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 16th	•		1/20
Paraguay	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 9th	R1 11th	QF 7th	R1 10th		4/20
Peru	•	•	•	4th	4th	2nd	QF 7th	•	•	R1 9th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•		5/20
Uruguay	R1 6th	2nd	2nd	3rd	3rd	R1 9th	R1 11th	3rd	R1 5th	QF 6th	QF 5th	2nd	3rd	QF 7th	4th	•	•	•	•	QF 7th		15/20
Venezuela	•	•	•	•	•	QF 5th	R1 9th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	R1 16th	•	•	•	•		3/20

FIFA Confederations Cup

Legend

• 1st – Champions
• 2nd – Runners-up
• 3rd – Third place
• 4th – Fourth place
• GS – Group stage
• Q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
•  ••  – Qualified but withdrew
•  •  – Did not qualify
•  ×  – Did not enter / Withdrew from the Copa América or withdrew from the Confederations Cup / Banned
•    – Hosts

Team	1992	1995	1997	1999	2001	2003	2005	2009	2013	2017	Total
Argentina	1st	2nd	•	•	•	×	2nd	•	•	•	3
Bolivia	•	•	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
Brazil	•	×	1st	2nd	4th	GS	1st	1st	1st	•	7
Chile	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	2nd	1
Colombia	•	•	•	•	•	4th	•	•	•	•	1
Uruguay	•	•	4th	•	•	•	•	•	4th	•	2
Total	1	1	2	2	1	2	2	1	2	1

Corruption

On 27 May 2015, several CONMEBOL leaders were arrested in Zürich, Switzerland by Swiss police and indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on charges of corruption, money laundering, and racketeering.^[16] Those swept up in the operation include former CONMEBOL presidents Eugenio Figueredo and Nicolás Léoz and several football federations presidents such as Carlos Chávez and Sergio Jadue. On 3 December 2015, the CONMEBOL President Juan Ángel Napout was also arrested.^[17]

See also

• CONMEBOL Jubilee Awards
• List of association football competitions
• Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
• Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)
• Confederation of African Football (CAF)
• Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
• Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)

References

External links

• Conmebol official website (in English)