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Miami (AFP) – Eight years after the Centenary edition, the United States will organize the Copa America for a second time in 2024, with Argentina defending champion and world champion, which will be enlarged to 16 nations, to better prepare for the co-organized World Cup-2026. with Canada and Mexico.
In addition to the ten member countries of the South American Confederation (Conmebol), six others belonging to the Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean will participate in the competition, announced the two bodies which have entered into a partnership.
“Conmebol and Concacaf are united by historical and emotional ties. But above all, we are united by the passion, characteristic of all of America, for football and sport. We are determined to renew and expand our initiatives and projects common,” Alejandro Dominguez, president of the first instance, said in a statement.
Initially scheduled for 2023, the next edition of the Copa America had been postponed for a year due to the health crisis. Ecuador had been approached for a while to organize it.
This event will be an opportunity for the United States to give, on an organizational level, a foretaste of what will be two years later the World Cup on its territory, where a large majority of matches will be played in an expanded format. to 48 countries, with other matches to be played in Canada and Mexico.
This general rehearsal will also be an opportunity for the three host selections to gauge themselves on the ground, to the extent, highly probable, that they are part of the six nations, from Concacaf, composting their ticket for this Copa America. These qualifications will be part of the next League of Nations of this confederation, in 2023/24.
Other joint competitions
Of the four countries (USA, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica) from Concacaf, competing this winter in Qatar for the World Cup, also won by Lionel Messi’s Argentina, only the United States had come out of the of groups, yielding in the round of 16 against the Netherlands.
The American selection, which relies on a young generation of talented players playing for many in European clubs, has made “its” World Cup a big objective to give new impetus to the popularization of “soccer” in this country where the football is first and foremost “American”. But the first project will be to appoint a coach to succeed Gregg Berhalter, caught up in a case of domestic violence and pushed towards the exit.
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Mr Dominguez added that the two organizations want to see “more and better quality competitions and that football and its values grow and strengthen throughout the hemisphere”.
With this in mind, Concacaf will also organize a “Final Four” type competition in 2024, bringing together the four best clubs from the two regions. These two teams will be designated, at the end of competitions organized by each confederation, it was specified without saying which ones.
There will also be collaboration in women’s football, with Concacaf inviting the top four nations in South America to participate in the new Gold Cup-2024. Tournament which will also take place in the United States and will bring together Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Paraguay.
“This is a partnership to support the continued growth of men’s and women’s football within both confederations,” commented Concacaf President Victor Montagliani.
© 2023 AFP