Photo by Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports
By SBI SOCCER
In the wake of reports that emerged Thursday night claiming the Copa America Centenario site would be moved from the USA to Mexico, CONMEBOL announced Thursday that it will hold a meeting with CONCACAF in Mexico next week before making a final decision.
CONMEBOL also announced that CONCACAF members will still participate in next year’s tournament, which is meant to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the confederation’s creation. CONMEBOL president Juan Angel Napout confirmed a meeting will take place in Mexico on Sept. 17 to discuss the possible move.
Although the the meeting will take place in Mexico, a source told Record that Federacion Mexicana de Futbol (FMF) does not want to host the tournament.
“Representatives of CONMEBOL and of CONCACAF, headed by its president Mr. Alfredo Hawit, will meet next Thursday, September 17 in Mexico City to analyze how the organizations will join together to organize the Copa Centenario which will be celebrated in 2016,” a statement from CONMEBOL said.
“Both institutions maintain the firm purpose of seeing out the tournament in commemoration of the 100 years of since the founding of the South American Confederation of Football (CONMEBOL in its Spanish initials), which will be July 9 of next year.”
Originally planned to be held in the U.S., the Copa America Centenario’s viability came into question during the summer, after a Justice Department investigation led to the arrests of numerous soccer officials for wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering.
Among those indicted were executives from a marketing and media rights agency that helped put Copa America Centenario in the U.S.
What do you think about this development? Still think the tournament will be held in the U.S.? Where will the site be if not? Will you still attend if the U.S. participates?
Share your thoughts below.
@Johnnyrazor
Hopefully Qatar doesn’t make it and USA gets 2022, because 2026 smells like mexico or australia, even china.
Like I said, Mexico has 3 new stadiums which the one in torreon can be expanded.
With the 3 new stadiums in Mexico,plus estadio azteca which is going to get remodel anytime now and puebla remodeling their stadium to the European level, I can easily see world cup 2026 in mexico.
Not only that, the rich team of tigres monterrey plans to make a new stadium, Atlas plans to remodel and rich team of Cruz Azul also plans to remodel or make a new one. By 2026, Mexico should easily have about 9 stadiums for world cup 2026 bid.
If mexico gets the copa America and cries for it, Mexico might use this as a dress rehearsal for a world Cup bid.
Mexico has 3 new stadiums that are better designed than mls and are soccer specific.
Those 3 come from torreon,Monterrey,guadalajara and puebla is remodeling their stadium to the next level,similar to bayern Munich arena.
You only need about 8 stadiums or 9 and
Mexico has more than enough stadiums,but the money corruption kills their dreams.
You have,
The new monterrey stadium
Torreon new stadium
Guadalajara new stadium
Estadio azteca
The new remodel puebla
Unam stadium
Tijuana stadium
Querretaro stadium
Toluca stadium
Morelia stadium.
Those stadiums would be perfect, plus there some division 2 that are not that bad.
The only way Mexico gets a World Cup again is if FIFA wants to stick it to the US. Corruption, crime, infrastructure all being major hurdles. Although money is being spent on new or upgraded stadiums the use of American football stadiums and its increase in attendance is too good to pass on, Mexico has 4 stadiums over 50,000, the US has 26 with over 80,000 you wouldn’t see Soccer specifics used if the US hosted again.
My guess is the officials involved are scared they themselves might get arrested — meeting or tournament (notice meeting is Mexico) — and/or the officials no longer want to conduct a tournament like what was agreed with the people arrested, perhaps because people in jail might want their cut of a US tournament, which would look bad.
I’d assume based on meeting site that Mexico either gets it or splits it with USA. But I doubt we are sole hosts anymore.
Why do we need the CONEMBOL teams to play in the U.S. Let them play this corrupt Centenario bunch in their own country. We should have nothing to do with them.
Too be fair,There have Been Americans within CONCACAF indicted for corruption by the DOJ too. Let’s not put the blame entirely on CONMEBOL.
I still think the Idea of the Copa America here would be great. Just go about legally.
Wes, come on. Let’s not simply blame CONMEBOL for the corruption. At worst, you sound racist saying things like that. At best it just shows that you haven’t followed the corruption story very closely. US and CONCACAF officials have been at the very center of the allegations.
If they change the host country because most of the directors fear arrest upon entering the US…. that has to be the most banana republic reason EVER.
I know it doesn’t have jurisdiction there, but can’t the justice department “recommend” either Mexico or the USMNT to stay away from that farce?
If the WC is still headed to Qatar with it’s heat and slavery, than I don’t see this tourney doing a t-turn based on speculation.
FIFA (from CONCACAF and mostly CONMEBOL) crooks (at least those possibly indited or those that are facing extradition) are afraid to step foot in the USA as they might be arrested.. until the organizing parties are cleaned up expect more and more tournaments played in nations okay with this behavior (Russia, Qatar, etc) and less in nations trying to clean it up (USA, England, etc)
lame.. but I stand by the US Gov. stance on this, even if it means loosing big tournaments like this.
These are veteran hosts, they will get other tournaments, no one is building a stadium for this, no one had their stadium selected and started financially committing to it. Same teams, same dates, maybe even some of the same cities if it gets split. Broadcasting stays same, still a big draw, only wrinkle I see is will sponsors stay for half the domestic exposure, and perhaps no final.
And, yeah, there is politics, but what the people with the pitchforks — reasonably so — aren’t acknowledging, is that while the corrupt site selection process was awful, it doesn’t look much better if rich America starts insisting on tournaments, either. Honestly I thought Copa America outside SA is weird and smells a little corrupt itself. So if we get half a tournament we probably shouldn’t have, be happy.