January 12 – The US appetite for big tournament soccer is growing with 24 cities in 18 states having indicated an interest in hosting matches in the 2016 Centennial Cup America (Copa America Centenario).
The US lost out on World Cup 2022 hosting, and will likely be the CONCACAF federation promoted to host the 2026 World Cup. The US will also be hosting the 2015 and 2017 editions of the Gold Cup. If big event credentials are required to convince FIFA for the 2026 World Cup tournament, then the US will have more than enough to parade in the bidding next time round.
The Copa America 2016 is the first time a confederation has hosted outside its flagship national team tournament outside its own region. Last year CONCACAF supported its central American nations (UNCAF) host their Copa Centroamericano Cup in the US.
The deadline for venues to submit a proposal is March 16, 2015, with the winning cities being announced in May.
CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb has repeatedly said that the 2026 tournament should be hosted in his region. “We are looking forward to taking the first step in the organization of this historic event that will unite the Americas and the world in 2016,” he said
“The unique opportunities that we have with the Centennial Cup America, flanked by the 2015 and 2017 Gold Cups, will help set the stage to demonstrate how our region is ready to welcome back another FIFA World Cup in 2026.”
“The interest level from cities across the nation has been phenomenal,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “Everyone understands the tournament will be a huge event during the summer of 2016 and it’s exciting to see all of these cities putting together bids to be involved.”
The venue locations/cties that have expressed an interest in hosting are: Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Washington, D.C., Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, Kansas City, St. Louis, Greater New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Nashville, Dallas, Houston and Seattle.
Of the 24 bidders on the list, CONCACAF says that the between eight and 13 will be awarded hosting rights.
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