Football
Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondent 5y

CONCACAF reiterates commitment to Gold Cup to 2023 and beyond

In the wake of comments by U.S. Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro that cast doubt on the future of the Gold Cup, CONCACAF released a statement indicating it remains committed to putting on the confederation's championship and said the 2023 edition is already part of the FIFA calendar.

Speaking to the Athletes Council at the USSF's Annual General Meeting last weekend, Cordeiro appeared to indicate that the future of the Gold Cup is uncertain, especially now that the Confederations Cup is expected to no longer be held.

"The Gold Cup is only legislated for this year and 2021, so it could go on but it may not happen," he said.

CONCACAF has long stated that it needed to hold the Gold Cup every two years in order to fund other programs such as youth tournaments. On Tuesday, CONCACAF released a statement saying that it intends to continue with that approach.

"Following recent media reports, CONCACAF clarifies that it is fully committed to the CONCACAF Gold Cup and confirms that the 2019, 2021 and 2023 editions are part of the FIFA calendar," the statement read. "Additionally, once the new FIFA calendar is produced after 2023, CONCACAF will continue organizing the pinnacle event of our confederation."

The Gold Cup is a biennial tournament, and for much of the Confederation Cup's existence, the first edition of the Gold Cup in a World Cup cycle determined CONCACAF's representative. It was only during the last cycle that the format changed, with the two most recent winners - in this case in 2013 and 2015 - playing in a one-game playoff to determine who went to the 2017 edition of the Confederations Cup.

In that match, Mexico defeated the U.S. 3-2 in extra time and ended up finishing fourth in the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Cordeiro added that CONCACAF and CONMEBOL have been in talks to stage a combined Copa America similar to the edition hosted by the U.S. in back in 2016 to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the tournament, but the two confederations "haven't been able to come to an agreement on that."

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