March 21 – SoFi stadium, Inglewood, California is for all intents and purposes a spaceship, and the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) probably wishes they were boarding it with a one-way ticket to Mars after being dumped out of the Concacaf Nations League semifinal by Panama.
March 20 – Mexico weathered a relentless Canadian storm to win 2-0 and set up a Nations League final against Panama, a repeat of the Gold Cup final in 2023 when Concacaf were last in the SoFi Stadium.
March 21 – With a goal in the fourth minute of added time Panama derailed the USA’s expectations of a ‘fourpeat’ Nations league win with a goal by supersub Cecilio Waterman in the fourth minute of added time.
What to expect
Martinique qualified through the preliminary play-offs with a win over up and coming Puerto Rico. They are making their fourth consecutive Gold Cup appearance and eighth overall. In a group with Panama, Costa Rica and El Salvador they have the strength and ability to be the surprise package and cold make it into the knockout rounds. Crucial to that will be getting a result against El Salvador. Panama may be too strong but a rebuilding and physically smaller Costa Rica could offer that opportunity of progression.
What to expect
This is Qatar’s second appearance at a Concacaf Gold Cup as a guest team. In 2021, the Asian champions made it all the way to the semi-finals under coach Felix Sanchez before losing to the US. Carlos Queiroz is in charge now, having left Iran, and is bringing a young and developing team. They are in the toughest group with Mexico and Honduras and first opponents will be Haiti.
What to expect
Saint Kitts and Nevis are the first team from the third tier of Concacaf’s Nations League to make it to the Gold Cup final. Qualifying via two penalty shoot out wins in the preliminary knock out rounds, they are in a group with the US, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. The Trinidad game will be their biggest opportunity to get a result but this is a team that has already played twice and will be starting to get weary.
What to expect
Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the group stage directly but only after Nicaragua were banned for fielding an illegible player. The team does not have the star players of the past or is anything like the team that qualified for the 1998 World Cup, but it is rebuilding, slowly, under a Normalisation Committee. Its leagues have restarted and although there is little funding for the players, they are at least playing again.
May 22 – Ultras from Bulgaria’s Botev Plovdiv stormed the pitch following the team’s loss to Lokomotiv Sofia in the Bulgarian championship, attacking players and stripping them of their shirts.
May 22 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has released details of the qualification draw for the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 which will be held Thursday, May 25.
May 22 – The acquisition of the new San Diego franchise in the MLS by an ownership group led by Mohamed Mansour has already been followed up with a statement of business intent with a deal announced with Elite Performance Partners (EPP) – a high-performance business that supports teams in elite sport.
May 22 – While Brazil has been plunged into a betting related match-fixing crisis, Argentinean clubs are moving deeper into the online gambling sponsorship market. Betsson has agreed a short sponsorship with Racing Club de Avellaneda for the 2023-24 season.
May 22 – At least 12 people have died after a crush at a football stadium in San Salvador, El Salvador, local authorities have said.
May 22 – Manchester City have won the Premier League for a third successive time, cementing their dominance of the English game and keeping the dream of a treble alive. It was their fifth Premier League title in six and was delivered after title rivals Arsenal lost at Nottingham Forest 1-0.
May 22 – The four nations in the Concacaf Nations League Finals to be played June 15-18 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, have released preliminary rosters of up to 60 players.
May 22 – Saudi Arabia is in talks over a $200 million sponsorship deal for the African Super League. A potential agreement could boost the Kingdom’s chances to land the hosting rights for the World Cup in the future.
May 22 – The ASEAN football federation (AFF) has extended its rights representation agreement with the sports marketing agency Sportfive until 2032.
Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey
The 25,000-capacity home to the New York Red Bulls of the MLS and the NJ/NY Gotham FC of the NWSL is situated in Harrison, New Jersey, seven miles west of Lower Manhattan, on the waterfront in the Riverbend district.
Originally planned to be built for the MetroStars in the MLS in 2004, various planning issues prevented the build from starting until the start of 2005 when drinks company Red Bull bought the MetroStars MLS franchise from Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and renamed the club.
Soldier Field, Chicago
The iconic Soldier Field stadium in Chicago,Illinois, will host the opening match of the 2023 Gold Cup between the USA and Jamaica on Saturday June 24.
The multi-purpose stadium opened in 1924 and was reconstructed in 2003. It has been the home of the Chicago Bears NFL team since 1971 and Chicago Fire FC in the MLS from 1998 to 2005 and since 2020.
With a capacity of 61,500 for American football,