An announcement by South America’s football governing body about staging the 2016 Copa America in the United States was deemed premature on Thursday by US Soccer and North America’s football bosses.
CONMEBOL, the South American football federation celebrating its centennial in 2016, announced Wednesday a special US-based Copa America with six North American federation (CONCACAF) teams including Mexico and the United States.
A day later, CONCACAF and the Americans basically said not so fast, there’s no deal done but talks are ongoing.
“Even though playing the 2016 Copa America in the CONCACAF region with our teams and those from CONMEBOL would be a wonderful experience for all fans, we are still in the midst of talks and negotiations between all parties involved in this decision,” said Enrique Sanz, CONCACAF’s general secretary.
“This is an idea we are hoping to materialize, but we are still evaluating and discussing before it becomes official. But the intention is definitely there.”
US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati was similarly damping down the certitudes stirred by the South Americans about staging an event on US soil opposite the 2016 European championships, a notion FIFA might have issues with as well.
“While the idea of a centennial tournament with some of the best teams in the hemisphere is certainly intriguing, it is not something we have agreed to host or participate in at this time,” Gulati said.
“As CONCACAF stated, there are still a number of discussions that need to take place with CONMEBOL. US Soccer would also need to be involved in discussions about hosting the tournament. We’re looking forward to those discussions in the near future.”
US Copa America plan premature, says CONCACAF
