Copa America Coming to the US!

In the Summer of 2016. Great news for US soccer fans. Do you think it can match the '94 World Cup in attendance? I imagine they will use all the big stadiums. Six Concacaf teams against conmebol competition, that could get ugly.

http://www.soccerbyives.net/2012/10/report-copa-america-headed-to-u-s-in-2016.html

 

First of all... :banana-linedance: Absolutely brilliant, what a coup considering the US took our C team a few years ago (after Confederations Cup), was roundly criticized by the organizers, and thumped & dumped out of the tourney quickly. We all thought we weren't going to be invited back anytime soon, so to be hosting such a great event is truly amazing.

Mo, the average attendance will be less than the '94 WC I would think because they will probably use some of the MLS stadiums for the lesser matchups (e.g. Panama v Paraguay). The Rose Bowl has been refurbished and now holds 10K less than what it did back then. The TV ratings will be through the roof, the boost for our domestic league will be fantastic. Seriously, had no idea this was a consideration, so whoever the people behind this that got it done a big :bow-yellow: :clap:

 

Crazy. After this announcement hit, US Soccer & CONCACAF have said it's not actually a done deal. They say have interest in participating and hosting but that nothing has been finalized. Seems like CONMEBOL jumped the gun.

There appear to be a variety of political/financial issues here (shocking, I know), among them that FIFA has yet to put the tourney on its calendar, meaning clubs would not be obligated to release their players so they could participate. Potentially affecting a FIFA decision is the fact that this could overlap with Euro 2016 and the Euro-centric powers that be may not want another big tournament competing for attention. ESPN's Jeff Carlisle also astutely points out that an expanded Copa America could marginalize the Gold Cup, on which CONCACAF relies heavily to fund a lot of its programs and other tournaments, so that could prove another stumbling block.

I'm with Joe - this would be fantastic if it happens. Does everything in this game have to turn into a political mess?

 

I knew it was too good to be true. :sad-roulette:

 

Yes, unfortunately. CONMEBOL must've assumed that CONCACAF would just roll with it - as it seems logical. However, I think UEFA/FIFA must be putting some serious pressure on CONCACAF.

 

It is suppose to be announced today. This will be awesome.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/05/01/4090046/us-set-to-host-2016-copa-america.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/05/01/4 ... rylink=cpy

 

:character-beavisbutthead: Will keep fingers crossed that the Rose Bowl will see more than just the Final where tickets will be ridiculous to the point where I can only brag that I live close to Pasadena.

Here is a question; Did CONCACAF implement a playoff for the Gold Cup winners of 2014 & 2016 (if different countries of course) for the 2017 bid to the Confederations Cup? If so, does this mean the US will be on the way to Russia in 2017? Or will the powers that be say the playoff will go forth if a CONCACAF team pulls out a miracle and wins the CA?

 

Dumb question time. Anyone have an idea of when FIFA will make a decision on if it will be sanctioned?

 

I assume the "dumb" refers to FIFA

 

Well played!!!

 

This article says not before September.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/us-host-centennial-copa-america-2016-23552473

 

I've never felt we should be like everybody else. I enjoy the Gold Cup even in the off cycle.

 

I used to feel this way but now that they have changed the format requiring a playoff between the last two winners for a place in the Confederations Cup, I think it will become a problem. We will want to send our best team every two years, instead of a "B" team in the off years, for a tournament in the middle of the MLS season. Now that a large chunk of our "A" team plays in MLS and some of them like Dempsey and Bradley are getting beaucoup bucks I see there being some issues with clubs not wanting to release players. Just look at the upcoming summer tournament schedule for MNT players in MLS: June '14 World Cup, July '15 Gold Cup, June '16 Copa America, June '17 Confederations Cup(hopefully), summer '17 Gold cup. That is a major tournament every summer. MLS teams can't afford to loose their best players for a month every season. Since the Mexican league has June and most of July off it is not as big of a problem for them. Will that give them an advantage in Confed Cup Qualifying ?

 

The impact on MLS may be a legitimate concern but we certainly didn't play our "A" team in the last cycle. My best guess is that at most six to eight players will make the WC roster from that group and most will be non-starters. On the upside it gave a bunch of players a chance to step up and show if they had the potential to play on the international level.

 

That makes sense to me. As unrealistic as it would be for MLS to follow the "normal" league soccer schedule (NY, Boston, KC, etc, in Jan anyone), I think a two week break in the Cup years would help to highlight the International competition and MLS.

 

The last Gold Cup was an "off year". We certainly played our "A" team in 2011 when qualifying for the Confed Cup was on the line. Furthermore the team Klinsmann fielded in 2013 was far closer to an "A" team than what Bradley trotted out for the 2009 Gold Cup. In addition to the players you bolded Castillo, Goodsen, Onyewu, Orozco, and Parkhurst are all still very real possibilities for Brazil. Castillo, Goodsen and Orozco all played in WC qualifying games and Klinsmann has clearly stated his interest in Onyewu and Parkhurst for the WC. Also, Holden was certainly in the plans as a WC starter had it not been for his continuous injuries, and Corona is still on "experts" lists for a possible WC slot (although I don't really know why). But regardless of A, B or C team, with more and more of the best Americans joining the B and C level guys in MLS and with the added significance of the off year Gold Cup, I wonder what problems this will create for MLS teams. With most if not all of Mexico's players in Europe or the Mexican league, will they have an advantage in the Gold Cup. I guess maybe the answer is to play an "A" team once every four years and in the play-off game, but I think the pressure to play in the Confed Cup will be too much and we will see mostly "A" teams in the Gold Cup from here on out.

 

with the new format I don't think you will see this as much. Yes, MLS should break for the Gold Cup, kind of like how they took a two week break between the playoffs and the MLS cup to accommodate the Nov international break last year, but I think doing so every two years is too much. The best answer is to have the Gold Cup every four years. Or you could find extra days to do this by eliminating the MLS All-star game or the play-offs and MLS Cup but none of these things will happen because of the money to be made.