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Centenary Copa America confirmed by CONMEBOL

Xinhua, November 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

The soccer governing body of South America CONMEBOL confirmed on Friday the Centenary Copa America will be held in the U.S. between June 3 and 26, 2016 to celebrate the centenary of CONMEBOL and Copa America.

The tournament will be held as part of an agreement between CONMEBOL and CONCACAF (the soccer confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean) as a special edition of Copa America (45th since its inception in 1916) between the usual four-year cycle, and will feature an expanded field of 16 teams (increase from the usual 12), with 10 teams from CONMEBOL and six teams from CONCACAF.

The tournament was originally proposed by CONMEBOL and confirmed by CONCACAF on 1 May 2014. However the choice of the U.S. to host the tournament had been in doubt after the soccer investigation that resulted in the arrest of seven leaders linked to confederations of the Americas in May this year.

CONMEBOL and CONCACAF held several meetings to discuss the possibility of the tournament and eventually got back on track after the two soccer governing bodies announced they have ended their relationships with the marketing company Datisa, which was suspected to pay 110 million U.S. dollars in bribes to South American soccer officials in an indictment of the U.S. federal prosecutors.

It will be the first Copa America hosted outside of South America. Besides 10 South American teams, four national teams also secured their participation: Mexico, winner of the 2015 Gold Cup; The US, Gold Cup champion in 2013 and host of the event; Costa Rica - Central American reigning champion; Jamaica, champion of the Caribbean Cup.

Panama vs Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago vs Haiti, the only two playoffs of the tournament, will be held on January 8, 2016 to decide the last two spots. Endi