CONMEBOL and CONCACAF have signed an agreement for the cooperation of international and club competitions. Under the contract, it was also agreed that the next edition of the Copa America would be organized by the United States. It will be the second such event organized by this country.

It was initially expected that the 2024 Copa América would be hosted by Ecuador due to the order of host rotation in the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). However, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez said that Ecuador had been nominated but not yet selected to host the competition. The country eventually declined to host the tournament in November 2022.

Both Peru and the USA have expressed interest in hosting the tournament. On January 27, 2023, it was announced that, through a new strategic partnership between the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and CONMEBOL, the latter country will host the next cup. The tournament is intended to test how prepared the US is for the 2026 World Cup.

© Anthony Quintano (CC BY 2.0)

The Argentinians will defend the trophy won in 2021, when Copa America was staged in Brazil. The hosts were the runners-up, losing in the final to La Albiceleste 1-0. Third place was secured by Colombia, who defeated Peru 3-2 and celebrated joyfully during the ceremony after the match. If you are to organize a soccer tournament for kids or youth, you will benefit from giving out custom soccer medals, which may have motivational value for them.

The format of the 2024 Copa America will feature 16 teams, 10 from CONMEBOL and 6 from CONCACAF, with teams from the North American, Central American and Caribbean confederations qualifying through the 2023-24 CONCACAF Nations League tournament. For now, we do not yet know which arenas will host the competition, but sources report that talks are already underway with some potential venues in the US. It is possible that several of the stadiums that will host the 2026 World Cup will also be used to stage the Copa America.

All South American national teams participate in the event, but historically guest countries have also been invited. The US has previously participated in the tournament four times, the most recent was in 2016, when they reached the semi-finals. That competition was also held in the United States. The showdown was a celebration of CONMEBOL and Copa América's centenary, and was the first ever cup hosted outside South America.

© Kevin Zolkiewicz (cc: by-nc)

The arenas of the tournament in 2016 were: Rose Bowl in Los Angeles area, Levi's Stadium in San Francisco Bay area, MetLife Stadium in New York area, NRG Stadium in Houston, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Gillette Stadium in Boston area, CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Soldier Field in Chicago, University of Phoenix Stadium in Phoenix area and Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Chile eventually won the title beating Argentina in the final on penalty kicks. Colombia finished third.