| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 2 - June 11 |
| Teams | 9 (from 9 confederations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Peñarol (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Palmeiras |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 52 (3.25 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Osvaldo Panzutto (4 goals) |
← 1960 1962 → | |
The 1961 Copa de Campeones de América was the second season of the competition, South America's prized football tournament. Nine teams entered, two more than the previous season, with Venezuela not sending a representative. In order to further enhance the competition, CONMEBOL maintained the criteria of having regional clashes in order to take advantage of the cross-border rivalries
Although Peñarol also won their national league, this became the first and, so far, only time the defending champions did not qualify automatically to the next edition. Nevertheless, the Manyas successfully defended their title by defeating Palmeiras in the final.