In 1975, a new format was established for the Copa America. Due to Venezuela's accession to the South American Football Confederation in 1952, there were a total of 10 national football associations under the South American Football Confederation, and the single round robin format was no longer applicable. At the same time, referring to the Copa Libertadores of South America that began in 1960, a group home and away two leg format was adopted.

Ten countries are divided into three groups, A, B, and C, with three teams in each group. The top team in the group, along with defending champions Uruguay from 1967, enters the semifinals. After the semifinals, they play two more home and away matches. The first Copa America championship after restructuring was Peru.

However, the problem with this new format is that it takes too long. The home and away format results in players having to play from August until November or even December, and some players also have club matches to play. Some players even play in Europe, so this format was abolished after only three sessions (19751979 and 1983).

The Copa America, which began in 1987, was organized in sequence by the ten member countries under the South American Football Confederation, and was held every two years until 2001. The Copa America was held every three years from 2001 to 2007.

In the 1987 Copa America hosted by Argentina, 10 countries were divided into three groups: A, B, and C, with three teams in each group. The top team in the group and the previous champion advanced to the knockout stage. In 1989 and 1991, it was changed to two groups, A and B, with five teams in each group participating in a single round robin points tournament. The first two teams advanced, and the four teams played another single round robin points tournament. Finally, the team with the highest points won the championship.

Due to the inconvenient grouping system of the 10 teams, South American Football Confederation began inviting two countries from other continents to participate in 1993. The first invitation was from Mexico and the United States, and the 12 teams were also in the same format as the current one. Groups A, B, and C consisted of four teams in each group, with the top two teams and the two groups with better results

Messi was unable to lead Argentina to win the Centennial Copa America.

In 2007, Venezuela hosted the Copa America, following the rules of FIFA's 10 countries hosting the Copa America in sequence. Afterwards, the Copa America was changed to be held every four years. But in 2016, coinciding with the centennial Copa America, a special edition was held in the United States, which was also the only Copa America not held in South America. This Copa America is also the first time that South American Football Confederation, Central North American Football Confederation, and Caribbean Football Confederation have jointly organized it. In addition to 10 teams from South America, participating countries have also invited 6 more teams.

After the 46th edition of the 2019 Copa America was held in Brazil, the South American Football Confederation decided to hold another edition immediately in 2020, changing it from odd numbered years to even numbered years, and fixing it to be held every four years thereafter. So, the 47th Copa America, originally scheduled to be held in 2020, was jointly organized by Argentina and Colombia, marking the first time in the history of the Copa America that two countries had jointly hosted it. At that time, it was decided to invite two countries, Qatar and Australia, to participate, and the new format added 12 matches.