The America’s Cup is the most famous and most prestigious
regatta and
Match Race in the sport of
sailing, and the oldest active
trophy in international
sport, predating the
Modern Olympics by 45 years. The America's Cup was formerly known as The Hundred Guinea Cup and was the prize for the race around the
Isle of Wight. The sport attracts top sailors and yacht designers because of its long history and prestige as the “Holy Grail” of yachting. Although the most salient aspect of the regatta is its yacht races, it is also a test of boat design, sail design, fundraising, and management skills. The cup, originally offered as the
Royal Yacht Squadron cup, is now named after the first yacht to win the trophy, the schooner
America. The trophy remained in the hands of the
New York Yacht Club of the
United States from 1852 or 1857 (when the syndicate that won the Cup donated the trophy to the club) until 1983 when the Cup was won by the challenger,
Australia II of
Australia, ending the longest winning streak in the history of sport. The skipper of Australia II,
John Bertrand, was quoted in saying, “This puts yacht racing back on the map!”.
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The Copa América (English: "America Cup") is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by
CONMEBOL, the South American football confederation. It is the oldest international tournament in the world starting in 1916. The participating nations are
Argentina,
Brazil,
Bolivia,
Chile,
Colombia,
Ecuador,
Paraguay,
Peru,
Uruguay and
Venezuela. Two invited teams from other confederations complete the twelve team tournament. Usually two or three
CONCACAF teams get an invitation to participate at each tournament.
Mexico has been a regular since they were invited for the first time in
1993. As CONMEBOL only has the 10 members mentioned above, there is no qualification tournament, nor is there a qualification tournament for the invited teams. They are invited on their own merits, such as by winning matches in World Cup finals or from qualification stages in their confederations.
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