 The official logo (2011–2017) | |
| Founded | February 19, 1991 |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 2017 |
| Region | Central America (UNCAF) |
| Number of teams | 7 |
| Last champions |  Honduras(4th title) |
| Most successful team(s) |  Costa Rica(8 titles) |
The Copa Centroamericana ([ˈkopa sentɾoameɾiˈkana], Spanish for "Central American Cup") was the main association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol (UNCAF), the sport's Central American governing body. Held every two years since 1991, in the years before and after the FIFA World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UNCAF Nations Cup (Spanish: Copa de Naciones de la UNCAF), changing to the latter name in 2011.
The tournament consisted of two stages. In the group round of the tournament finals, the seven teams competed in two round-robin groups, one of four teams and the other of three, for points, with the top two teams in each group proceeding. These four teams qualified for the semifinal stage of the final round, 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 the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Copa América.
The 14 Central American Championship tournaments were won by four different national teams: Costa Rica were the most successful national team of the competition with eight victories. Honduras won four titles. Guatemala and Panama 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 in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
The final tournament was held in 2017, with its place in the fixture schedule being taken by the CONCACAF Nations League.