The venue chosen for the 2011 edition of the Copa América was Argentina, a country that is fourteen times champion of this continental tournament, which takes place between the 1st and the 24th of July.
The competition includes teams from ten South American countries and invites two more teams to participate in the championship. In addition to Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Uruguay, the Mexican and Japanese teams were invited to compete in the Copa America 2011. However, due to the earthquake and, consequently, the tsunami that hit Japan at the beginning of 2011, Japan chose to refuse the invitation, which was passed on to Costa Rica later.
The Argentine physical structure for hosting matches has eight stadiums, located in cities different: the “Estádio Monumental Núñez”, located in Buenos Aires, has a capacity of 57,921 people; the “Mario Alberto Kempez Stadium”, located in Cordoba, has a capacity for 57,000 people; the “23 de Agosto Stadium”, located in San Salvador de Jujuy, has a capacity for 23,000 people; the “Ciudad de La Plata Stadium”, located in La Plata, has a capacity for 53,000 people; the “Estádio Malvinas Argentinas”, located in Mendonza, has a capacity for 40,268 people; the “Father Ernesto Martearena Stadium”, located in Salta, has a capacity for 20,408 participants; the “Estadio del Bicentenario”, located in San Juan, has a capacity of 25,000 people; and the “Stadio Brigadier General Estanislao López”, located in Santa Fé, has a capacity for 47,000 people.
The competition is organized into three groups (A, B and C), and each of them has four participating countries:
GROUP A: Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia and Costa Rica;
GROUP B: Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela and Ecuador;
GROUP C: Chile, Uruguay, Peru and Mexico.
The draws that defined the matches played in the first round of the competition resulted in the following table (presented according to the order of the games during the tournament):
After the first phase, the dispute for the quarterfinals of the Copa America follows:
The semifinal is made up of just two games:
The dispute for third and fourth places takes place between:
The first two places will then dispute the grand final match:
By Paula Rondinelli
Brazil School Collaborator
Graduated in Physical Education from the São Paulo State University “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” – UNESP
Master in Motricity Sciences from the São Paulo State University “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” – UNESP
Doctoral Student in Integration of Latin America at the University of São Paulo - USP
Soccer - sports - PE - Brazil School
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/educacao-fisica/a-copa-america-2011.htm