The CONCACAF/CONMEBOL partnership: Everything we know so far Copa America, W Gold Cup and beyond

CONCACAF and CONMEBOL unveiled a wide-ranging partnership on Friday that will have significant ramifications for both men’s and women’s soccer in the western hemisphere, with the 2024 Copa America set to be hosted in the United States, the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup to include four teams from South America and a new tournament featuring two men’s clubs from each federation set to come online in 2024.

We’re still waiting on many of the official details of the various competitions to be announced, but here’s what we’re hearing on how the partnership was formed and what it will end up looking like:

How did this partnership come together?

Ever since the centennial edition of the Copa America was held in the U.S. in 2016, bringing the tournament back to the United States has been an interesting possibility for all parties.

Though that tournament was jeopardized when the U.S. Justice Department found that more than a dozen individuals involved with the initial organization of the event took more than $110 million in kickbacks, it still ended up setting Copa America records for attendance, television viewership and revenue.

It was also a massive commercial success for U.S. Soccer, which led the organization of the tournament. According to USSF tax filings, the federation’s reserves increased from roughly $120 million to about $175 million in the fiscal year in which the tournament was held. A source with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to disclose financial information said that U.S. Soccer made between $80 and $90 million in revenue from the Copa America Centenario.

CONCACAF and CONMEBOL also made a huge amount of money from the competition, but the South American confederation wasn’t thrilled by how much of the final cut was taken by U.S. Soccer, the source said. That led to CONMEBOL brushing aside an approach in 2019 from former USSF president Carlos Cordeiro to host the 2020 edition of the tournament, which ended up being postponed until 2021 due to the pandemic.

The conversation remained on a low simmer, though, and eventually heated up again this past fall. According to multiple sources with knowledge of the partnership, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and U.S. Soccer began seriously exploring the possibility of hosting the 2024 competition in the U.S. while leaders from all three organizations were in Qatar for the World Cup. Those conversations began shortly after Ecuador, which was initially slated to host the 2024 Copa America, opted out of hosting the tournament in early November.

For CONMEBOL, moving the tournament to North America was attractive from a logistical and organizational standpoint. The U.S. has the infrastructure and resources needed to hold the competition without much advance notice. Brazil arguably could’ve managed the same, but the fact that the country hosted the last two editions of the Copa America probably made it politically difficult for the competition to return there again in 2024.

For CONCACAF hosting in 2024 is a major win on several fronts. The confederation will benefit financially, with the source saying that it will share revenue generated from the event with CONMEBOL. It’s also a huge plus for CONCACAF nations to have an opportunity to compete in a high-stakes tournament against some of the top teams on the planet prior to the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Without the opportunity to play in Copa America, the three World Cup host countries, which automatically qualify for 2026, would have faced very light schedules in the buildup to that tournament. It’s also a good chance for the other CONCACAF nations, who will have to qualify for 2026, to test themselves against better competition than they usually face.

U.S. Soccer was happy to host the competition too, though this time around, organizational responsibilities will fall mostly to CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, and the sources said that USSF will only receive a cut of ticket revenue. One of the sources said that the final projected haul for the federation is around $20 million. That’s a significant total, but far less than what U.S. Soccer earned from the Copa America in 2016.

On the women’s side, an expanded W Gold Cup is a big boost for the top four teams from CONMEBOL to have additional matches in a tournament setting. While Brazil, Argentina and Colombia have all been regulars for friendlies against the USWNT (Paraguay also featured in a pair of friendlies in Sept. 2021 — both blow-out wins for the U.S.), the Gold Cup format provides something new for everyone. CONCACAF always had the intention of adding four guest teams to the tournament field, but given the partnership on the men’s side, making the link on the women’s side as well was a natural fit.

When and where will the competitions be played?

There isn’t any certainty on specific dates for the Copa America, but we know that it will be played next summer, most likely during the June and July FIFA window.

Where it will be contested is also an open question. A confederation source said that CONCACAF and CONMEBOL have not yet decided on a process for determining host venues, nor have they determined how many venues they’d like to hold matches.

A final list of 10 host venues for the 2016 Copa America Centenario were chosen from a group of 24 initial bidders. To be considered, venues had to have a minimum capacity of 50,000. The host stadiums were all primarily NFL or college football venues: the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.; MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ; NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas; Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Penn., Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.; Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.; Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash.; Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill.; University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. and Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. The opening match was held at Levi’s Stadium and the final was held at MetLife Stadium.

ESPN reported earlier on Friday that a good number of the 11 U.S. venues set to host matches at the 2026 World Cup could hold Copa America contests. All of those venues regularly hold large-scale events, but holding Copa America games would be a solid dry run for all of them as they prepare to welcome legions of international fans and national teams in 2026. One of the sources expected that most of the venues will be World Cup host cities, but didn’t rule out the possibility of spreading some matches to markets that missed out on 2026.

For the W Gold Cup, much of what we know still stems from CONCACAF’s original release announcing the introduction of the tournament. The final iteration is intended to be a showcase of top talent and the conclusion of the federation’s four-year cycle, but the qualification process for the tournament also means another dramatic increase in matches for lower-ranked teams.

As of August 2021, the plan looked like this: Through qualifiers in September, October and November of this year, three teams would earn spots in next summer’s W Gold Cup, with another six featured in a play-in tournament for the last three spots. Those play-in games are planned for April 2024. Then, the W Gold Cup would happen in June, the month before the Olympics — meaning back-to-back tournaments for the two teams heading to Paris next summer, as well as Brazil and Colombia, who are also already qualified for the Olympics.

The confederation source said that the hope for the W Gold Cup is to host it across multiple cities, and if it does take place in June, weather shouldn’t prove much of a factor in the U.S. Generally, CONCACAF has taken a fairly limited approach to hosting tournaments, opting for one or two sites for group stages, then sometimes moving to a new city for the knockout rounds (consider the final Olympic qualifying tournament held in January 2020 before the pandemic: the group stages were played in Houston and Edinburg, Texas before shifting to the West Coast to wrap up in Carson, Calif.).

Again, the big question here is how this tournament will interact with the FIFA calendar. There’s no information about what international dates might be for 2024, but for the NWSL in particular, this presents another interesting challenge for playing through the summer. The league has already made the decision to play through the 2023 World Cup — though their release on key dates for this season promises “the schedule has been formatted to limit the number of regular season games” during the tournament.

One potential solution is to change the timing of the tournament, though this would have the knock-on effect of changing the planned dates for qualification. According to a confederation source, moving the tournament is on the table and could end up being the preferred solution for everyone. Qualified teams won’t have to worry about a congested summer of international demands, but CONCACAF also gets more eyeballs on their new tournament if they avoid being a lead-up event to the Olympics. Right now, February is the most obvious candidate for an alternative window.

Of course, if the move to February is finalized, the weather does become a factor in terms of venue selection. We might see the same general approach of heading to Texas, California and Florida that both CONCACAF and U.S. Soccer have employed for games in this window.

How will teams qualify for the Copa America?

All 10 teams from CONMEBOL automatically qualify for the competition. The confederations announced that the six participants from CONCACAF will have to qualify through the 2023-24 CONCACAF Nations League, but the confederation hasn’t determined the specifics of how that will work.

The confederation source said that the first four spots will almost certainly be allocated to the four group winners from League A of the Nations League. It’s an open question, though, how teams five and six will be chosen. CONCACAF could allocate those places to the top two teams to finish second in their group in League A. Alternatively, the confederation could have the four teams that finish second in their group in League A compete in an additional competition for the final two spots in the Copa America. Another option would be to include the winner of League B in the mix, giving an opportunity to teams further down the pecking order in CONCACAF.

Though it’s hosting the tournament, the U.S. will not receive an automatic spot in Copa America. The USMNT will have to qualify like every other team in CONCACAF. The U.S. will likely be heavily favored to win its Nations League group for the 2023-24 competition, which, barring something surprising, should be enough to get them into the Copa America.

What impact will this have on the USMNT?

Assuming they qualify, this is a big positive for the U.S. men. Without Copa America, the American men would be looking at a run-up to the World Cup in which their only competitive matches would have come in the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup. It’s certainly not a foregone conclusion that the U.S. will win those tournaments, but there’s a lot more to be gained for the still-developing USMNT by adding some important matches against talented teams like Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia. As long as they get in, this tournament will help them for the next World Cup. The same line of thinking applies to Canada and Mexico’s men’s teams, as well.

Perhaps even more importantly, the possibility of playing in Copa America should make the open USMNT head coaching job much more attractive to potential candidates. The role always had some allure solely for the possibilities associated with coaching a talented young team at a home World Cup, but, in the short-run, the competitive slate looked pretty uninteresting. Adding the potential to play in another prestigious tournament changes that in a major way, and could make the open sporting director role a bit more attractive, as well.

Don’t expect U.S. Soccer to pump the revenue it will gain from this tournament into either of those vacancies, however. A source said that the money will be put into the federation’s reserves and spread around their various programs, not put solely into one national team or another.

What impact will this have on the USWNT & NWSL?

So much of this rests on the final decision of when the W Gold Cup will be held: if it stays in June, U.S. Soccer is going to have to make decisions about how to prioritize playing both the Gold Cup and the Olympics, and it feels like there’s a clear winner there. If it shifts to February or another potential window, depending on the 2024 FIFA calendar, then it could impact SheBelieves Cup — but since U.S. Soccer controls those games, it could be easy enough to shift the tournament, or bring back the Tournament of Nations branding if it’s more of a summer event.

On the roster front, the USWNT has always sent the full senior national team to tournaments. Timing may play a factor here, but it may not: introducing another competition might provide a major developmental opportunity for the WNT to give additional tournament experience to players in the youth system outside of FIFA World Cups. Regardless of when the W Gold Cup happens, changing up the roster could prove massively beneficial to growing the player pool.

Aside from how this will fit into an increasingly crowded dance card, U.S. Soccer might have more trouble booking teams for SheBelieves, or other friendlies. In the hypothetical where Brazil might come to the U.S. for the Gold Cup, would they want to return during a later window for another match or two?

For the NWSL, timing will be even more important. This has a greater impact than just the potential release of USWNT players, as it includes any players on qualified CONCACAF teams, and now the top four South American teams, as well. Would the Kansas City Current have to play most of the 2024 summer without Debinha? It’s a lot easier to adjust the approach to preseason dates around the W Gold Cup then the summer.

Chief sporting director of the NWSL, Tatjana Haenni, provided a statement to The Athletic: “2024 will be an exciting year for fans of women’s soccer with our expansion and further growth plans for the league. As the professionalization of the women’s game is based on club soccer, we generally support the idea of further competitions on an elite level. We look forward to working with U.S. Soccer, CONCACAF and FIFA to ensure players are treated in a manner that keeps them healthy, and fans can see the best players compete across all competitions.”

What impact will this have on the Canada men’s national team?

Coming out of a disappointing World Cup, one of the most pressing questions around the Canada men’s national team was how they’d prepare and, necessarily, elevate their game for the 2026 World Cup without a qualification cycle. Provided they qualify, the Copa America will offer part of their answer: It will give this team the games against some of the best international teams in the world that they haven’t had under John Herdman. That inexperience plagued them at the 2022 World Cup.

The first order of business will be to avoid relegation to CONCACAF Nations League Group B. After losing 2-1 away to Honduras in June 2022 as part of the current Nations League, the return date in March, rumoured to be at BMO Field in Toronto, is now a must-win game. Staying in Group A likely betters their chances of grabbing one of those top six spots.

Playing in Copa America will be a chance for the team to show necessary tactical evolution. Part of the reason they were outclassed in Qatar was their overreliance on team spirit and man management without nuanced tactical plans to prepare for the opposition. Herdman will have to challenge his players tactically in ways they perhaps haven’t been against more experienced South American sides. Again: Good, and necessary, preparation for 2026, when Canada should be expected to make some noise.

Finally, Canada’s men’s team has not always been able to land friendlies against challenging opponents. The optics of booking, then cancelling a June 2022 friendly against Iran didn’t do Canada Soccer any favours. But, as some in and around the organization were quick to point out to The Athletic after Friday’s announcement, if Canada can show growth in their game at Copa America against strong South American sides, that could increase the likelihood of them becoming an attractive dance partner with other teams in friendlies come 2025.

Add it all up and this is a gift of an opportunity for a Canada team that simply has to improve come 2026 when they’re playing the World Cup on home soil. —Joshua Kloke

What do we know about the club series?

It’s by no means the main headline, but Friday’s announcement also came with the news that CONCACAF and CONMEBOL have agreed to a four-team men’s club competition featuring a pair of teams from both confederations. The first edition of the tournament will be played in 2024.

Details around the mini-tournament are scarce, but the confederation source said that the CONCACAF participants will likely be the two finalists from the most-recent CONCACAF Champions League. The same source said CONMEBOL is still working out which teams it will send. Placing the two finalists from the Copa Libertadores is an option, as is sending the winners of the Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana, the region’s secondary club competition.

It hasn’t yet been decided where the tournament will take place, but the source said that the current expectation at both confederations is that the 2024 edition will be held in North America.

It’s also up in the air when in 2024 the tournament will be held. The Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana traditionally finish around the end of October or start of November, while the CCL will wrap in June this year. When the competition is held will determine which continental competitions serve as qualifiers for it.

(Photo: GUILLERMO LEGARIA/AFP via Getty Images)

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