The qualifying format and schedule for the inaugural 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup was released on Wednesday with a new competition coming for all of the federations’ national teams.

The United States will host the inaugural tournament, which will begin with a preliminary round on Feb. 17 that will decide the final three entrants into the 12-team group stage. Group stage play will begin on Feb. 20 before eight teams qualify for the knockout round, which concludes on March 10 with the W Gold Cup Final.

“This new CONCACAF W Gold Cup will be the flagship event for women’s national team football in our region and will showcase some of the very best women’s football in CONCACAF and the world,” said federation president and FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani in a statement.

The USWNT has already clinched its spot in the tournament due to being hosts of the competition. Four CONMEBOL teams (Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Paraguay) are also invited in the group stage as the top finishers in the 2022 Copa America Femenina.

In addition, the winner of the CONCACAF Olympic play-in between Canada and Jamaica will secure another place in the tournament’s group stage, along with six other teams from the North American region that will clinch berths through qualifying rounds. A total of 33 CONCACAF teams will take part in a 2023 Road to CONCACAF W Gold Cup competition.

The Road to CONCACAF W Gold Cup tournament will be split up into League A (nine highest ranked teams in three groups of three), League B (next 12 highest ranked teams in three groups of four), and League C (12 lowest ranked teams in three groups of four), based on FIFA rankings that will be announced later this month.

Teams placed in League C will be unable to earn a place in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup.

Group stage play is set to begin in September and conclude in November, which will see the three group stage leaders in League A automatically earn positions in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup group stage. The three runners-up from League A and the three group winners from League B will then be paired up for next February’s preliminary round that will determine the three final entrants into the CONCACAF W Gold Cup group stage.

The USWNT is set to defend its back-to-back World Cup titles later this summer at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. CONCACAF will have six representatives at the tournament, with Canada, Costa Rica, Haiti, Jamaica and Panama joining the United States.