After months of doubt in the aftermath of the FIFA corruption scandal, the Copa America Centenario is set to go on as planned.
CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and U.S. Soccer announced Friday that the Copa America Centenario will be held in the United States in June 2016. The tournament looked to be very much in doubt throughout the summer, but the event will now go on as planned following work between the federations and the tournament’s broadcast partners in an effort to “implement a strengthened and transparent governance structure for managing and executing the historic football event.”
“We are extremely happy for our fans, our teams and our partners, that we were able to find a way to host the Copa America Centenario celebration in the United States under an entirely new structure for managing the tournament’s operations and finances,” CONCACAF and CONMEBOL said in a joint statement.
“The improved governance structure will bring greater accountability and transparency to the event so it can serve its two intended purposes – to celebrate the 100 years of history of Copa America, and provide a once in a lifetime spectacle for fans in the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL regions.”
All parties involved have agreed to form an executive committee that will include two representatives from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL, as well as a representative from U.S. Soccer.
Broadcast rights to the tournament were recently reclaimed by the federations after a previous agreement was ended with Datisa, S.A. The confederations have vowed transparency and accountability as new partners are found.
The tournament will feature six teams from CONCACAF, including the U.S., Mexico, Jamaica and Costa Rica. Two further teams will be confirmed through an upcoming playoff.
In addition, the event will feature all 10 teams from CONMEBOL: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Venues for the tournament are set to be announced at a later date. According to U.S. Soccer, 24 cities have submitted proposals to U.S. Soccer, with the minimum seating required set at 50,000.
What do you think of the news? Relieved that the tournament is going on as planned? What cities do you hope to see host?
Share your thoughts below.
Hope Messi and the Argentinian Nats. win it. This generation of the Albeceleste deserve to win the it.
Given the current manager what are the odds that we will embarrass ourselves? With the way the team is currently managed I am assuming we will not be making it out of the group stage of this tournament and then get “Oh this is just a bump in the road.” Enough excuses replace Klinsmann as manager perhaps Pareja from Dallas would be good. Knows the American player and knows the American soccer pyramid.
Another possible chance to see the USMNT play at the Rosebowl in a meaningful game!! Although the USA-MEX game was gut-wrenching in the end, it was probably the best soccer game/soccer experience I have ever been to. The atmosphere outside the stadium pre-game and the the atmosphere in the stadium with the radical momentum shifts was awesome. The image of 60,000 Mexico fans going quite as the American Outlaws jumped and sang in harmony after Bobby Wood’s goal will forever be entrenched in my mind. From a distance the Outlaws looked like a turbulent tidal wave coming at you after the goal. I re-watched the game on tv and was disappointed that they didn’t show this on the broadcast.
But of course debby-downers like Slowleft and others will say, “This is just a made up meaningless tournament, a money grab, who cares?” Umm going back to the Concacaf Cup, I can think of 95,000 people in the stadium that cared, and millions that watched at home on Fox/Univision that also cared. Too bad we have a $hitty manager that didn’t do a good job of getting the team ready. Still bitter.
*going quiet