Copa Libertadores - History

History

Main article: History of the Copa Libertadores See also: List of Copa Libertadores winners and Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones

The clashes for the Copa Río de La Plata between the champions of Argentina and Uruguay kindled the idea of a continental competition in the 1930s. In 1948, the South American Championship of Champions (Spanish: Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones), the most direct precursor to the Copa Libertadores, was played and organized by Chilean club Colo-Colo after years of planning and organization. Held in Santiago, it brought together the champions of each nation's top national leagues. The tournament was won by Vasco da Gama of Brazil.

However, it was not until 1958 when the basis and format of the competition was created, thanks to the efforts of Peñarol's board leaders. On March 5, 1959, at the 24th South American Congress held in Buenos Aires, the competition was approved by the International Affairs Committee. In 1966, it was named in honor of the heroes of South American liberation, such as José Gervasio Artigas, Bernardo O'Higgins, José de San Martín, Pedro I, and Simón Bolívar, among others.

Read more about this topic:  Copa Libertadores

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    “The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more”
    —John Adams (1735–1826)

    “The history of progress is written in the blood of men and women who have dared to espouse an unpopular cause, as, for instance, the black man’s right to his body, or woman’s right to her soul.”
    —Emma Goldman (1869–1940)

    “The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
    —Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)