1916 South American Championship

1916 South American Championship
	Brazilian poster advertising the championship
Tournament details
Host country	Argentina
Dates	2–17 July
Teams	4 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	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)
Top scorer(s)	Isabelino Gradín ; (3 goals)
	1917 →

The 1916 South American Championship was the first continental championship for national association football teams in South America. It was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 2 to 17 July during Argentina's Independence Centenary commemorations.^[1]^[2] The tournament was won by Uruguay, who drew (0–0) with Argentina in the last match of the tournament at Racing Club Stadium. Uruguay's Isabelino Gradín was the top scorer with three goals.^[a]^[3]^[6]

Venues

The tournament was played in only two venues. All matches, except the last one, were played at Estadio GEBA.^[6]

Buenos Aires	Avellaneda
Estadio GEBA	Estadio Racing Club
Capacity: 18,000	Capacity: 30,000

Buenos Aires Avellaneda

Teams

There was no qualifying for the tournament. The participating countries were Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay.^[4]

Squads

Format

The teams played a single round-robin tournament, earning two points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss.^[6]

Final round

Each team played one match against each of the other teams. Two points were awarded for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a defeat.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Uruguay	3	2	1	0	6	1	+5	5
Argentina	3	1	2	0	7	2	+5	4
Brazil	3	0	2	1	3	4	−1	2
Chile	3	0	1	2	2	11	−9	1

2 July 1916

Uruguay	4–0	Chile
Piendibene 44', 75' Gradín 55', 70'	Report

Estadio GEBA, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Hugo Gronda (Argentina)

6 July 1916

Argentina	6–1	Chile
Ohaco 2', 75' J.D. Brown 60' (pen.), 62' (pen.) Marcovecchio 67', 81'	Report	Báez 44'

Estadio GEBA, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 18,000

Referee: Sidney Pullen (Brazil)

8 July 1916

Brazil	1–1	Chile
Demósthenes 29'	Report	Salazar 85'

Estadio GEBA, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: León Peyrou (Uruguay)

10 July 1916

Argentina	1–1	Brazil
Laguna 10'	Report	Alencar 23'

Estadio GEBA, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 16,200

Referee: Carlos Fanta (Chile)

12 July 1916

Uruguay	2–1	Brazil
Gradín 58' Tognola 77'	Report	Friedenreich 8'

Estadio GEBA, Buenos Aires

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Carlos Fanta (Chile)

17 July 1916

Argentina	0–0^[a]	Uruguay
	Report

Estadio Racing Club, Avellaneda

Attendance: 17,000

Referee: Carlos Fanta (Chile)

Goalscorers

There were 18 goals scored in 6 matches, for an average of 3 goals per match.

3 goals

Isabelino Gradín

2 goals

1 goal

José Laguna
Alencar
Demósthenes
Arthur Friedenreich
Telésforo Báez
Hernando Salazar
José Tognola

Source: RSSSF

Notes

^ ^a ^b The match between Argentina and Uruguay played on 16 July had to be abandoned at 0–0 after only 5 minutes due to a riot among the spectators. The riot spilled over onto the field and the clash finished with the wooden tribunes on fire. As the match couldn't be rescheduled in the Estadio GEBA, it was replayed at the Estadio Racing Club. The partial result of the match in GEBA was declared void and superseded by the one from Avellaneda.^[3]^[4]^[5]

References

^ "Historia de la selección argentina en la Copa América". StubHub (in Spanish). 8 April 2019. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
^ Martins Barriga, Nicolás (2011). "Copa América: ¿Creación Argentina?". Periodismo Deportivo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
^ ^a ^b Ronzano, Gustavo; Barnade, Oscar (23 July 2005). "Chau tablón". Clarín (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
^ ^a ^b Balmaceda, Daniel (27 November 2018). "1916: once policías para 30 mil hinchas en el primer escándalo del fútbol". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 July 2024.
^ "Triste epílogo del Campeonato Sudamericano". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 17 July 1916.
^ ^a ^b ^c Tabeira, Martín (10 August 2007). "South American Championship 1916". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 July 2024.

[fn1-6] The match between Argentina and Uruguay played on 16 July had to be abandoned at 0–0 after only 5 minutes due to a riot among the spectators. The riot spilled over onto the field and the clash finished with the wooden tribunes on fire. As the match couldn't be rescheduled in the Estadio GEBA, it was replayed at the Estadio Racing Club. The partial result of the match in GEBA was declared void and superseded by the one from Avellaneda.^[3]^[4]^[5]

[1] "Historia de la selección argentina en la Copa América". StubHub (in Spanish). 8 April 2019. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.

[2] Martins Barriga, Nicolás (2011). "Copa América: ¿Creación Argentina?". Periodismo Deportivo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.

[tablon-3] Ronzano, Gustavo; Barnade, Oscar (23 July 2005). "Chau tablón". Clarín (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2013.

[nacion-4] Balmaceda, Daniel (27 November 2018). "1916: once policías para 30 mil hinchas en el primer escándalo del fútbol". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 July 2024.

[5] "Triste epílogo del Campeonato Sudamericano". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 17 July 1916.

[rsssf-7] Tabeira, Martín (10 August 2007). "South American Championship 1916". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 July 2024.

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