 Official logo of the competition as Copa Centroamericana (2011–2017) | |
| Organiser(s) | UNCAF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1991; 34 years ago (1991),as Copa de Naciones UNCAF |
| Abolished | 2017; 8 years ago (2017) |
| Region | Central America |
| Teams | 7 |
| Related competitions | North American Nations Cup Caribbean Cup/CFU Championship |
| Last champions |  Honduras(4th title) |
| Most championships |  Costa Rica(8 titles) |
TheCopa Centroamericana (English:Central American Cup) was anassociation football competition organized byUNCAF as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams fromCentral America. The tournament was held from 1991 to 2017, every two years in the years before and after theFIFA World Cup and also served as a qualification method for theCONCACAF Gold Cup. It was originally known asCopa de Naciones UNCAF (English:UNCAF Nations Cup) from 1991 to 2009, changing to the latter name in the2011 edition.
The tournament consisted of two stages, in the group stage of the tournament finals, the seven teams competed in two groups with around-robin format, one group with four teams and the other with three teams, with the top two teams in each group qualified for the semifinal, where the winners advanced into the final while the losers disputed a third place match. The fifth place match was disputed between the third-ranked teams of the group stage. Depending on their performance in the Copa Centroamericana, teams then went on to participate in other competitions, such as theCONCACAF Gold Cup and theCopa América.
The 14 editions of the Central American competition were won by four different national teams:Costa Rica were the most successful national team with 8 titles.Honduras won 4 titles,Guatemala andPanama won one title each. Costa Rica and Honduras were the only sides in history to win consecutive titles, with the former winning an unprecedented three titles in2003,2005 and2007.
The last edition was held in2017, with its place in the fixture schedule being taken by theCONCACAF Nations League.
Due to the success of theCosta Rica national football team at the1990 FIFA World Cup and the approaching1994 FIFA World Cup to be hosted in theUnited States, the CONCACAF Congress inKingston,Jamaica decided to stage a continental championship itself; theCONCACAF Gold Cup was ratified on August 18, 1990.[1] Costa Rica were given a bye into the competition due to its title at the1989 CONCACAF Championship, which also served as a qualification phase for the World Cup hosted by Italy.[1] However, due to mainly economic reasons, the United States were chosen as the venue for the continental tournament.[2]
During that same conference, the qualification format for the Central American associations were also decided on.[1] The final qualification round of the Central American zone had two bids: the United States and Costa Rica.[2] Costa Rica, now three-time CONCACAF champions and to celebrate theiranniversary of the nation's World Cup performance by its team, was named by CONCACAF and UNCAF as the host country of the inaugural edition of the regional tournament organized by UNCAF (1991 UNCAF Nations Cup) on February 19, 1991.[3]
The 7UNCAF members participated on the tournament:
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 8 (1991,1997,1999,2003,2005,2007,2013,2014) | 4 (1993,2001,2009,2011) | – | 2 (1995,2017) | 14 |
| Honduras | 4 (1993,1995,2011,2017) | 3 (1991,2005,2013) | 2 (1999,2009) | 2 (1997,2003) | 11 |
 Guatemala | 1 (2001) | 5 (1995,1997,1999,2003,2014) | 3 (1991,2005,2007) | – | 9 |
 Panama | 1 (2009) | 2 (2007,2017) | 3 (1993,2011,2014) | 2 (2001,2005) | 8 |
 El Salvador | – | – | 6 (1995,1997,2001,2003,2013,2017) | 7 (1991,1993,1999,2007,2009,2011,2014) | 13 |
 Belize | – | – | – | 1 (2013) | 1 |
Italic — Hosts
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Costa Rica (CRC) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 |  Honduras (HON) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 3 | Guatemala (GUA) | 1 | 5 | 3 | 9 |
| 4 | Panama (PAN) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | El Salvador (ESA) | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Totals (5 entries) | 14 | 14 | 14 | 42 | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Costa Rica | 61 | 36 | 16 | 9 | 109 | 38 | +71 | 124 |
| 2 | Honduras | 60 | 34 | 12 | 14 | 108 | 49 | +59 | 114 |
| 3 | Guatemala | 51 | 23 | 14 | 14 | 63 | 48 | +15 | 83 |
| 4 | El Salvador | 63 | 22 | 14 | 27 | 62 | 72 | −10 | 80 |
| 5 | Panama | 52 | 21 | 13 | 18 | 56 | 52 | +4 | 76 |
| 6 |  Nicaragua | 44 | 5 | 5 | 34 | 29 | 116 | −87 | 20 |
| 7 | Belize | 33 | 1 | 6 | 26 | 20 | 81 | −61 | 9 |
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