Centennial Cup America Will Be Most Important Sporting Event in U.S. in Decades
ME NewsWire/ Business Wire
MIAMI. - Saturday, May 3rd 2014
The
Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association
Football (CONCACAF) and the South American Football Confederation
(CONMEBOL) revealed in a joint press conference today in Miami that the
Centennial Edition of the Copa America will be played in the United
States in 2016.
The Centennial Cup America will mark the first
time the historic South American championship has been played outside of
that region, and represents the most important sporting event to come
to North American shores in decades – rivaling the 1994 FIFA World Cup
and the 1996 Olympic Games in grandeur and relevance to the world of
sport.
“I congratulate CONMEBOL for inspiring players and fans
throughout a century of fantastic football, and thank them for extending
the legacy of this hugely successful event to CONCACAF territory,” said
CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb. “The American continent may have been
discovered in 1492, but I can’t imagine a better way to unite this
continent than with football and an exceptional celebration of talent in
2016.”
“We are proud to play a leading role in the celebration
of the centennial of a tournament born to unite all America. Year after
year the Cup has gained prestige, which has allowed the opening of doors
to the football of an entire continent. Now, CONCACAF and the United
States will play host to the world’s oldest national team competition,”
said Eugenio Figueredo, CONMEBOL President.
The Centennial Cup
America will be held in cities across the United States in the summer of
2016, kicking off on June 3 and culminating with the Final on Sunday,
June 26.
In a sixteen team field, CONMEBOL’s ten Member
Associations – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,
Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela – will be joined by six
competitors from CONCACAF, including host and 2013 Gold Cup champion
United States, and six-time Gold Cup champion Mexico.
Additional
CONCACAF representatives will include the 2014 champion of the Caribbean
Football Union -- victor in November’s Caribbean Cup -- and the
champion of UNCAF, winner of the Central American Cup scheduled to be
staged in the fall of 2014.
The Centennial Cup America falls
between the 2015 and 2017 editions of the biannual CONCACAF Gold Cup,
which decides the regional champion of North America, Central America
and the Caribbean.
The previous edition of Copa America was
celebrated in Argentina in 2011, with Uruguay claiming a record
fifteenth title. The next edition of the tournament is set to be played
in Chile in 2015.
wematch, a recently announced partnership
between three international leaders in the soccer industry, Full Play,
Torneos and Traffic Sports, holds the commercial rights for this
tournament.
For more info visit www.concacaf.org
Contacts
CONCACAF
Jurgen Mainka, 305-793-7313
jurgen.mainka@concacaf.org
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