# South American Youth Football Championship

The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and Spanish: Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or Portuguese: Torneio da Juventude, “Campeonato Sul-Americano Sub-20”,(English: "America's Youth") is a South American football tournament organized by the CONMEBOL for South American national teams of men under age of 20. This tournament also serves as qualification for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, and from 2007 to 2015, also for the Summer Olympic Games.

## History

The first South American Youth Championship was hosted by Venezuela from 22 March to 13 April 1954. Initially played as an under-19 tournament, it became an under-20 event from 1977. Brazil has won the tournament on the most occasions (12 times).

## Format

All matches take place in the host country, and all ten U-20 national football teams of CONMEBOL compete in every edition (if none of the associations withdraw). They are separated in two groups of five, and each team plays four matches in a pure round-robin stage. The three top competitors advance to a single final group of six, wherein each team plays five matches. The results in this last pure round-robin stage determines the champion and the South American qualification to the next FIFA U-20 World Cup. Unlike most international tournaments, in South American Youth Championships there is neither final match nor third place match nor knockout stages.

## Results
### Keys

* 1954–75: U-19 teams
* 1977–present: U-20 teams
| Ed. | Year | Host | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Teams |
| 1 | 1954 | Venezuela | Uruguay | Brazil | Venezuela | Peru | 9 |
| 2 | 1958 | Chile | Uruguay | Argentina | Brazil | Peru | 6 |
| 3 | 1964 | Colombia | Uruguay | Paraguay | Colombia | Chile | 7 |
| 4 | 1967 | Paraguay | Argentina | Paraguay | Brazil | Peru | 9 |
| 5 | 1971 | Paraguay | Paraguay | Uruguay | Argentina | Peru | 9 |
| 6 | 1974 | Chile | Brazil | Uruguay | Paraguay | Argentina | 9 |
| 7 | 1975 | Peru | Uruguay | Chile | Argentina | Peru | 6 |
| 8 | 1977 | Venezuela | Uruguay | Brazil | Paraguay | Chile | 9 |
| 9 | 1979 | Uruguay | Uruguay | Argentina | Paraguay | Brazil | 9 |
| 10 | 1981 | Ecuador | Uruguay | Brazil | Argentina | Bolivia | 9 |
| 11 | 1983 | Bolivia | Brazil | Uruguay | Argentina | Bolivia | 10 |
| 12 | 1985 | Paraguay | Brazil | Paraguay | Colombia | Uruguay | 10 |
| 13 | 1987 | Colombia | Colombia | Brazil | Argentina | Uruguay | 9 |
| 14 | 1988 | Argentina | Brazil | Colombia | Argentina | Paraguay | 11 |
| 15 | 1991 | Venezuela | Brazil | Argentina | Uruguay | Paraguay | 10 |
| 16 | 1992 | Colombia | Brazil | Uruguay | Colombia | Ecuador | 8 |
| 17 | 1995 | Bolivia | Brazil | Argentina | Chile | Ecuador | 9 |
| 18 | 1997 | Chile | Argentina | Brazil | Paraguay | Uruguay | 10 |
| 19 | 1999 | Argentina | Argentina | Uruguay | Brazil | Paraguay | 10 |
| 20 | 2001 | Ecuador | Brazil | Argentina | Paraguay | Chile | 10 |
| 21 | 2003 | Uruguay | Argentina | Brazil | Paraguay | Colombia | 10 |
| 22 | 2005 | Colombia | Colombia | Brazil | Argentina | Chile | 10 |
| 23 | 2007 | Paraguay | Brazil | Argentina | Uruguay | Chile | 10 |
| 24 | 2009 | Venezuela | Brazil | Paraguay | Uruguay | Venezuela | 10 |
| 25 | 2011 | Peru | Brazil | Uruguay | Argentina | Ecuador | 10 |
| 26 | 2013 | Argentina | Colombia | Paraguay | Uruguay | Chile | 10 |
| 27 | 2015 | Uruguay | Argentina | Colombia | Uruguay | Brazil | 10 |
| 28 | 2017 | Ecuador | Uruguay | Ecuador | Venezuela | Argentina | 10 |
| 29 | 2019 | Chile | Ecuador | Argentina | Uruguay | Colombia | 10 |
| 30 | 2023 | Colombia | Brazil | Uruguay | Colombia | Ecuador | 10 |
| 31 | 2025 | Venezuela | Brazil | Argentina | Colombia | Paraguay | 10 |

## Performances by countries

| Team | Titles | Runner-up | Third place | Fourth place |
| Brazil | 13 (1974, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2001, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2023, 2025) | 7 (1954, 1977, 1981, 1987, 1997, 2003, 2005) | 3 (1958, 1967, 1999) | 2 (1979, 2015) |
| Uruguay | 8 (1954, 1958, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 2017) | 7 (1971, 1974, 1983, 1992, 1999, 2011, 2023) | 6 (1991, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015*, 2019) | 3 (1985, 1987, 1997) |
| Argentina | 5 (1967, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2015) | 8 (1958, 1979, 1991, 1995, 2001, 2007, 2019, 2025) | 8 (1971, 1975, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1988, 2005, 2011) | 2 (1974, 2017) |
| Colombia | 3 (1987, 2005, 2013) | 2 (1988, 2015) | 5 (1964, 1985, 1992, 2023, 2025) | 2 (2003, 2019) |
| Paraguay | 1 (1971) | 5 (1964, 1967, 1985, 2009, 2013) | 6 (1974, 1977, 1979, 1997, 2001, 2003) | 4 (1988, 1991, 1999, 2025) |
| Ecuador | 1 (2019) | 1 (2017) | | 4 (1992, 1995, 2011, 2023) |
| Chile | | 1 (1975) | 1 (1995) | 6 (1964, 1977, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2013) |
| Venezuela | | | 2 (1954, 2017) | 1 (2009*) |
| Peru | | | | 5 (1954, 1958, 1967, 1971, 1975) |
| Bolivia | | | | 2 (1981, 1983*) |

## Top goalscorers

| Competition | Nation | Player | Number of goals |
| 1954 | Paraguay | Juan Bautista Agüero | 7 |
| 1958 | Argentina | Norberto Raffo | 5 |
| 1964 | Chile | Jaime Bravo | 5 |
| 1967 | Argentina | Carlos Garcia Cambon | 3 |
| 1971 | Uruguay | Ricardo Islas | 4 |
| 1971 | Paraguay | Cristóbal Maldonado | 4 |
| 1974 | Uruguay | Hebert Revetria | 8 |
| 1975 | Uruguay | Hebert Revetria | 4 |
| 1975 | Brazil | Toninho Cerezo | 4 |
| 1977 | Uruguay | Amaro Nadal (fr) | 4 |
| 1977 | Brazil | Guinha | 4 |
| 1979 | Uruguay | Arsenio Luzardo | 4 |
| 1981 | Uruguay | Enzo Francescoli | 5 |
| 1981 | Brazil | Lela | 5 |
| 1983 | Uruguay | Carlos Aguilera | 7 |
| 1985 | Brazil | Romário | 4 |
| 1987 | Argentina | Alejandro Russo | 4 |
| 1988 | Brazil | Assís | 5 |
| 1988 | Paraguay | Ferreira | 5 |
| 1991 | Argentina | Juan Esnáider | 7 |
| 1992 | Uruguay | Fernando Correa | 5 |
| 1995 | Argentina | Leonardo Biagini | 4 |
| 1997 | Brazil | Adaílton | 8 |
| 1999 | Argentina | Luciano Galletti | 9 |
| 2001 | Brazil | Adriano | 6 |
| 2001 | Brazil | Ewerthon | 6 |
| 2003 | Argentina | Fernando Cavenaghi | 8 |
| 2005 | Colombia | Hugo Rodallega | 11 |
| 2007 | Uruguay | Edinson Cavani | 7 |
| 2009 | Paraguay | Hernán Pérez | 5 |
| 2009 | Paraguay | Robin Ramírez | 5 |
| 2009 | Uruguay | Abel Hernández | 5 |
| 2009 | Brazil | Walter | 5 |
| 2011 | Brazil | Neymar | 9 |
| 2013 | Uruguay | Nicolás López | 6 |
| 2015 | Argentina | Giovanni Simeone | 9 |
| 2017 | Uruguay | Rodrigo Amaral | 5 |
| 2017 | Ecuador | Bryan Cabezas | 5 |
| 2017 | Argentina | Lautaro Martínez | 5 |
| 2017 | Argentina | Marcelo Torres | 5 |
| 2019 | Ecuador | Leonardo Campana | 6 |
| 2023 | Brazil | Vitor Roque | 6 |
| 2023 | Brazil | Andrey Santos | 6 |
| 2025 | Colombia | Néiser Villarreal | 8 |
Source: RSSSF.

## Men's U-20 World Cup Performances of Qualified South American teams
### Legend

* 1st – Champions
* 2nd – Runners-up
* 3rd – Third place
* 4th – Fourth place
* QF – Quarterfinals
* R2 – Round 2
* R1 – Round 1
* – Hosts
* q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
| Team | 1977 | 1979 | 1981 | 1983 | 1985 | 1987 | 1989 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995 | 1997 | 1999 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2023 | 2025 | Total |
| Argentina | | 1st | R1 | 2nd | | | QF | R1 | | 1st | 1st | R2 | 1st | 4th | 1st | 1st | | QF | | R1 | R1 | R2 | R2 | Q | 17 |
| Brazil | 3rd | | QF | 1st | 1st | QF | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | QF | QF | QF | 1st | 3rd | R2 | 2nd | 1st | | 2nd | | | QF | Q | 19 |
| Chile | | | | | | 4th | | | | R1 | | | R1 | | R2 | 3rd | | | QF | | | | | Q | 7 |
| Colombia | | | | | QF | R1 | QF | | R1 | | | | | 3rd | R2 | | | QF | R2 | R2 | | QF | QF | | 11 |
| Ecuador | | | | | | | | | | | | | R2 | | | | | R2 | | | R1 | 3rd | R2 | | 5 |
| Paraguay | R1 | QF | | | R1 | | | | | | R1 | R2 | 4th | R2 | | | R2 | | R2 | | | | | | 9 |
| Uruguay | 4th | 3rd | QF | QF | | | | R1 | QF | | 2nd | 4th | | | | R2 | R2 | R1 | 2nd | R2 | 4th | R2 | 1st | | 16 |
| Venezuela | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | R2 | | | | 2nd | | | | 2 |