Just as the 2024 Copa América will feature teams from Central America and North America, neighboring confederations plan to make their flagship competition more global.
The concacaf, the Confederation that will host the next edition of the World Cup, would have thought of improving the competitiveness of the teams they will represent in the tournament through an innovation in the Gold Cup, their star competition. According to the Mexican press, the tournament is set to increase its number of participants from the current 16 to 24 by 2025, a year before the World Cup. Because of this, they would consider inviting teams from other continental confederations.
Already dubbed the “Gold Super Cup” by some media, this extended version would include national teams from Conmebol, UEFA, CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia) and OFC (Oceania). The idea is that the eight remaining competitors come from these regions.
If it does come about, it wouldn’t be the first time the north’s premier competition has been ‘internationalized’, with 2021 hosting Asian Qatar as guests. South Korea was also one of the non-Concacaf countries to participate around the turn of the century.
For its part, Conmebol has a not insignificant tradition of playing in the cup, as Brazil and Colombia have lost finals, while Peru and Ecuador have also participated in some editions.
The venues for this so-called “Super Cup” would be the same as those for the 2026 World Cup games. In the case of Mexico, the selected cities are Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City.
Concacaf plays at the Copa America 2024
This news comes to light a few days after the confirmation that the 2024 Copa América will be played in the United States with the 10 South American teams and six from Concacaf who will qualify via the 2023-24 League of Nations.