While global football switches gears to a new World Cup cycle, a renewed focus has been placed on the international match calendar for the next four years.

One of the biggest tournaments held in the middle of each new cycle is the CONMEBOL Copa America, which is South America’s international championship traditionally held every four years in the middle of the next FIFA cycle.

The upcoming tournament will be the first without Lionel Messi since 2004, as Argentina look to secure their third consecutive continental crown without their legendary talisman following his international retirement in late 2026.

With rumors swirling of yet another Copa America being held outside South America this time around, The Sporting News looks at what we know about the 2028 Copa America, and what some reports are claiming about how it will be contested.

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When is the 2028 Copa America?

Dates for the 2028 CONMEBOL Copa America have not yet been released. Even the FIFA international calendar does not have specified dates for the tournament itself just yet.

However, it will very likely be held from mid-June to mid-July 2028.

The last Copa America in 2024, also held in the United States, ran from June 20 to July 14.

The kicker here is that the 2028 Summer Olympics are also being held in the United States. While most sports will be played in Los Angeles, Olympic soccer will be played all across the U.S. The Olympics will be held across two weeks from July 14 to July 30, although some sports will bleed into the early stages of the schedule prior to the opening ceremony.

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Where will the 2028 Copa America be held?

A host for the 2028 Copa America has not yet been officially announced.

However, reports have been simmering for months that the 2028 Copa America will once again be held in the United States, just like it was in 2024.

The first report came from Adam Crafton in The Athletic, who stated on December 1, 2025 that talks were in place to secure a plan for running it back in the USA. Rumors resurfaced in early October on social media, although there was nothing concrete from mainstream journalists to back that buzz up.

If the United States does host the 2028 edition, it would mean the Copa America has been held in the United States three times in the last five editions, coming in 2016, 2024, and 2028. It has not been hosted in a country not named Brazil or the United States since Chile hosted in 2015. Argentina last hosted in 2011.

What teams will compete in the 2028 Copa America

As usual, all 10 CONMEBOL member nations are guaranteed to take part in the 2028 Copa America, as they do in every edition of the tournament.

In addition to those regular South American tournament contenders, there are usually guest participants at each edition of the competition.

If the tournament is indeed held in the USA again in 2028, the United States, Canada, and Mexico would almost surely once again participate, alongside potentially even more CONCACAF teams who would need to qualify. In 2024, CONCACAF was given three additional participants who qualified via the Nations League. Jamaica, Panama, and Costa Rica were the three nations who secured those places.

Overall, the 2024 tournament featured 16 participants. However, according to some social media buzz recently, the 2028 edition could possibly expand to 20 teams. That would make for an unusual number for a competitive environment, requiring a bit of restructuring how the tournament is contensted.

If they do expand the field, it’s unclear whether the additional teams would come from CONCACAF, or if two teams from another confederation would be invited.

How often is the Copa America held?

In the current CONMEBOL setup, the Copa America is meant to be held once every four years, situated in the middle of a World Cup cycle on an even year.

For example, with the FIFA World Cup being held in 2026 and 2030, the next Copa America will be held in 2028.

However, that change is recent. For much of the Copa America’s history, it has been held in odd-number years, coming the year after the FIFA World Cup. For example, the Copa America was held in 2011 and 2015, one year after the 2010 and 2014 World Cup tournaments.

Recently, there have also been some extra editions of the competition which have made it seem like it’s been held more often than normal. In 2016, CONMEBOL hosted a Centenario edition of the tournament to celebrate the federation’s 100th anniversary. They also held one in 2021, originally meant to be contested in 2020 as part of the switch to even years, but then postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All-time Copa America results