Colombia men's national football team

Early history (1900–1946)

The origins of football in Colombia are disputed, as no single city or date is universally accepted. Most accounts place the first organised matches in the early 20th century on the Caribbean coast, particularly around Barranquilla and Santa Marta, where British railway workers on the Puerto Colombia line and English sailors introduced association football to local communities. One documented account places the first match on 6 August 1904, when executives and workers of The Colombia Railways Company played in Barranquilla, following informal games organised by employees since around 1900. The Colombian Football Federation was founded in 1924 as the Liga de Fútbol and joined both FIFA and CONMEBOL in 1936. Colombia's first recorded international match came on 17 February 1926, when a side representing the Atlantic coast and playing as Selección Atlántico defeated Costa Rica 4–1 at the Estadio Moderno Julio Torres in Barranquilla. In 1937, Colombia fielded a representative side at the Juegos del IV Centenario de Cali, a multi-sport event marking the 400th anniversary of Cali's founding, and played four matches against Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador and Cuba at the newly inaugurated Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero. Despite FIFA membership, Colombia withdrew from the 1938 FIFA World Cup and instead entered the 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games. The squad in this period was drawn largely from Club Juventud Bogotana, later Millonarios,…

Continental

Copa América Champions (1): 2001 Runners-up (2): 1975, 2024 Third place (5): 1987, 1993, 1995, 2016, 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup Runners-up (1): 2000

Regional

Central American and Caribbean Games Gold medal (1): 1946 Bronze medal (1): 1938

Friendly

Copa Centenario de Armenia (1): 1989 Marlboro Cup (1): 1990

Awards

FIFA Best Mover of the Year (1): 1993 FIFA World Cup Fair Play Trophy (1): 2014 Copa America Fair Play Award (1): 2024

Summary