The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) confirmed on Friday evening the completion of the field for the historic 2016 Copa America Centenario, to be played this June in stadiums across the United States. In a pair matches contested in Panama City on Friday evening, Panama defeated Cuba and Haiti edged Trinidad & Tobago for the last two berths in the once-in-a-lifetime event, which honors 100 years of the Copa America tournament, and will feature some of the world’s best teams and players competing from June 3-26, 2016.
Panama and Haiti join 2013 Gold Cup champion and host United States, 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup champion Mexico, reigning Central American Cup champion Costa Rica and 2014 Caribbean Cup Champion Jamaica in representing CONCACAF at the event. The Copa America Centenario also includes all 10 CONMEBOL teams, including world powerhouses Argentina and Brazil, which along with the United States and Mexico were announced as group seeds last month.
The remaining 12 participating nations will be sorted into the four groups based on a public draw scheduled for February. Seeding for the draw will be based on the December 2015 FIFA World Rankings. Details of groups and procedures for the February draw will be announced in the coming weeks.
The groups will play a round-robin format, visiting cities across the U.S. in the first two weeks of June, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinals. The Copa America Centenario, as an official FIFA-sanctioned event, crowns the centennial champion of the world’s oldest national team tournament, and has been placed on FIFA’s international calendar, meaning stars like Argentina’s Leo Messi, Brazil’s Neymar and Colombia’s James Rodriguez are cleared to play in this summer’s event.
To be among the first to access tickets to this summer of soccer event, fans can visit www.CA2016.com. Sounders FC Season Ticket Members will also have access to an exclusive presale opportunity in the coming weeks. Due to the expected high demand for this premium soccer tournament, fans are urged to register early to guarantee access to information as it becomes available. More ticketing information will be released in the coming weeks.
