CONCACAF Gold Cup

Last updated
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Concacaf Gold Cup 2021.svg
Organizing body CONCACAF
Founded1991;33 years ago (1991) [1] [2]
Region North America (Northern America, Central America, and the Caribbean)
Number of teams16 (finals)
41 (eligible to enter qualification)
Qualifier for FIFA Confederations Cup (1992–2017)
Related competitions CONCACAF Championship
Current champion(s)Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico (9th title)
Most successful team(s)Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico (9 titles)
Website concacaf.com/gold-cup
Soccerball current event.svg 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup

The CONCACAF Gold Cup (Spanish : Copa Oro de la CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The Gold Cup is held every two years. The tournament succeeded the CONCACAF Championship (1963–1989), with its inaugural edition being held in 1991. [1]

Contents

North American Football Union members Canada, United States and Mexico are the only three nations to have won the tournament.

History

Championships before CONCACAF

Before the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) was formed in 1961, association football in the region was divided into smaller, regional divisions. The two main bodies consisted of the Confederación Centroamericana y del Caribe de Fútbol (CCCF) founded in 1938 (consisting of Central America and most of the Caribbean) and the North American Football Confederation (NAFC) founded in 1946 (consisting of the North American nations of United States, Mexico, Canada, and Cuba). Each confederation held its own competition, the CCCF Championship and the NAFC Championship. The CCCF held 10 championships from 1941 to 1961 with Costa Rica winning seven times. The NAFC held four championships in 1947 and 1949, and after 41 years of absence, in 1990 and 1991 for the North American zone as the North American Nations Cup with Mexico winning three times and Canada winning once. [3]

CONCACAF Championship (1963–1989)

Winners of the CONCACAF Gold Cup up to 2019 Winners of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.png
Winners of the CONCACAF Gold Cup up to 2019

CONCACAF was founded in 1961 through the merging of NAFC and CCCF which resulted in a single championship being held for the continent. The first CONCACAF tournament was held in 1963 in El Salvador with Costa Rica becoming the first champion. The CONCACAF Campeonato de Naciones, as it was called, was held every two years from 1963 to 1973. The second tournament was held in Guatemala in 1965 when Mexico defeated the host country in the final of a six-team tournament. The 1967 competition was held in Honduras and saw a third champion crowned, Guatemala. Costa Rica won their second title as hosts in 1969, knocking off Guatemala, while two years later, Mexico won their second championship as the tournament moved to Trinidad and Tobago, the first time in the Caribbean. In 1973, the tournament kept the same format of six teams playing a single round-robin, but there were bigger stakes attached: CONCACAF's berth in the FIFA World Cup tournament in 1974. In Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the host country pulled off an upset by winning the tournament and claiming a spot in the World Cup in West Germany.

With the Campeonato de Naciones doubling as the final World Cup qualifying tournament, the next two editions were held in Mexico City and Tegucigalpa, Honduras in 1977 and 1981, respectively. In each case the host country was crowned champion and earned a spot in the World Cup. In 1985 and 1989, the winner of the World Cup qualifying tournament was again crowned Confederation champion. Canada and Costa Rica were named champions in 1985 and 1989, receiving a trophy. [4] [ better source needed ]

CONCACAF Gold Cup (since 1991)

In 1990, CONCACAF renamed and restructured the CONCACAF Championship as the CONCACAF Gold Cup, with the United States hosting the first competition in 1991, and hosting or co-hosting every subsequent iteration of the tournament (as of 2023). The host country was the inaugural champion of the eight-team tournament. Mexico dominated the remainder of the decade, winning three consecutive CONCACAF Gold Cup titles in 1993, 1996 and 1998.

In 1996, the Gold Cup field included its first guest team, the defending FIFA World Cup Champions Brazil. Guests were invited to participate in the six Gold Cup tournaments from 1996 to 2005. Starting with the 2000 Gold Cup, the tournament field was increased to twelve teams and for the 2007 tournament, the Gold Cup again was contested exclusively by nations within CONCACAF.

The 2007 Gold Cup hosts successfully defended their title beating Mexico in the final 2–1 in Chicago; Canada and Guadeloupe shared third place. Mexico won the 2009 Gold Cup by beating the United States 5–0. In the 2011 Gold Cup, Mexico defeated the USA 4–2 in the final while the USA won the 2013 Gold Cup by beating Panama 1–0.

Since the formation of the Gold Cup in 1991, the CONCACAF Championship has been won nine times by Mexico, seven times by the United States, and once by Canada. Runners-up include Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, and Jamaica.

Before 2015, when the Gold Cup did not fall in the same year as the FIFA Confederations Cup, the winner, or highest-placed team that is a member of both CONCACAF and FIFA, qualified for the next staging of that tournament. In 2015, the winners of the previous two Gold Cups (the 2013 and 2015 editions) faced each other in CONCACAF Cup – a playoff to determine the CONCACAF entrant to the 2017 Confederations Cup. [5]

In January 2017, Victor Montagliani announced the expansion of the Gold Cup from 12 to 16 teams, starting with the 2019 tournament. [6] In November 2018, Costa Rica was announced as one of the hosts of the 2019 tournament, with a group B double-header set to be held at the Estadio Nacional. [7] In April 2019, it was announced that Jamaica would host a doubleheader in group C at Independence Park. [8]

Evolution of the format

The number of teams and the format of each final tournament have varied over the years. In most tournaments, the tournament consists of a round-robin group stage followed by a single-elimination knockout stage.

There has been interest from numerous sources to have the tournament held every four years to potentially increase the prestige, decrease player fatigue and better align with the upcoming European and South American calendars. [9] [10]

YearTeamsMatchesGroup stageFinal stages
1991–19938162 groups of 4 teams4-team knockout (group winners and runners-up)
19969133 groups of 3 teams4-team knockout (group winners plus best runner-up)
199810163 groups of 3 or 4 teams
200012194 groups of 3 teams8-team knockout (group winners and runners-up)
2002–200320
2005–2013253 groups of 4 teams8-team knockout
(group winners and runners-up, plus 2 best 3rd-placed teams)
201526
201725
2019–202316314 groups of 4 teams8-team knockout (group winners and runners-up)

Results

Keys
Ed.YearHostsFinalThird place playoff or losing semi-finalistsNumber of teams
ChampionsScoreRunners-upThird placeScoreFourth place
1 1991 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of the United States.svg
United States
0–0 ( a.e.t. )
(4–3 p)
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg
Honduras
Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
2–0
Flag of Costa Rica.svg
Costa Rica
8
2 1993 Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
4–0 Flag of the United States.svg
United States
Flag of Costa Rica.svg
Costa Rica
Flag of Jamaica.svg
Jamaica
1–1 (a.e.t.)
[n 1]
[n 1]
8
3 1996 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
2–0 Flag of Brazil.svg
Brazil
Flag of the United States.svg
United States
3–0
Flag of Guatemala.svg
Guatemala
9
4 1998 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
1–0 Flag of the United States.svg
United States
Flag of Brazil.svg
Brazil
1–0
Flag of Jamaica.svg
Jamaica
10
5 2000 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
Canada
2–0 Flag of Colombia.svg
Colombia
Flag of Peru (state).svg  Peru and Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago
12
6 2002 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of the United States.svg
United States
2–0 Flag of Costa Rica.svg
Costa Rica
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
Canada
2–1
Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg
South Korea
12
7 2003 Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
1–0 (s.d.)Flag of Brazil.svg
Brazil
Flag of the United States.svg
United States
3–2
Flag of Costa Rica.svg
Costa Rica
12
8 2005 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of the United States.svg
United States
0–0 ( a.e.t. )
(3–1 p)
Flag of Panama.svg
Panama
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia and Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras
12
9 2007 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of the United States.svg
United States
2–1 Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada and Flag of Guadeloupe (local).svg  Guadeloupe
12
10 2009 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
5–0 Flag of the United States.svg
United States
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica and Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras
12
11 2011 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
4–2 Flag of the United States.svg
United States
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras and Flag of Panama.svg  Panama
12
12 2013 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of the United States.svg
United States
1–0 Flag of Panama.svg
Panama
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras and Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
12
13 2015 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
3–1 Flag of Jamaica.svg
Jamaica
Flag of Panama.svg
Panama
1–1 (a.e.t.)
(3–2 p)
Flag of the United States.svg
United States
12
14 2017 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of the United States.svg
United States
2–1 Flag of Jamaica.svg
Jamaica
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica and Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
12
15 2019 Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
1–0 Flag of the United States.svg
United States
Flag of Haiti.svg  Haiti and Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica
16
16 2021 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Flag of the United States.svg
United States
1–0 ( a.e.t. )Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada and Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar
16
17 2023 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Flag of Mexico.svg
Mexico
1–0 Flag of Panama.svg
Panama
Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica and Flag of the United States.svg  United States
16
Notes
  1. 1 2 Both teams shared the third position after extra time as a penalty shoot-out was not held.

Summary

Results by nation
TeamWinnersRunners-up
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 92
Flag of the United States.svg  United States 75
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 10
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 03
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 02
Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 02
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 01
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 01
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras 01

Records and statistics

Champions' results in the Confederations Cup

Qualified viaYearTeamResult
1993 Gold Cup 1995 Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Third place
1996 Gold Cup 1997 Flag of Mexico.svg MexicoGroup stage (3rd)
1998 Gold Cup (1st) 1999 Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico Champions
1998 Gold Cup (2nd)Flag of the United States.svg  United States Third place
2000 Gold Cup 2001 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Group stage (4th)
2002 Gold Cup 2003 Flag of the United States.svg United StatesGroup stage (4th)
2003 Gold Cup 2005 Flag of Mexico.svg MexicoFourth place
2007 Gold Cup 2009 Flag of the United States.svg United States Runners up
2011 Gold Cup 2013 Flag of Mexico.svg MexicoGroup stage (3rd)
2013 Gold Cup 2017 Flag of the United States.svg United StatesDNQ [lower-alpha 1]
2015 Gold Cup Flag of Mexico.svg MexicoFourth place
  1. Lost qualifying play-off (CONCACAF Cup) to Mexico.

Awards

There are currently seven post-tournament awards

Invitees

The 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the first iteration to have a guest from a different confederation, Brazil from CONMEBOL. In spite of bringing their under-23 team, Brazil finished as runners-up to Mexico and outplaced seven teams from CONCACAF. [11] For the next decade, six countries from three confederations would make appearances in the Gold Cup, with seven of the eleven appearances finishing within the top four. Starting in 2007, CONCACAF would no longer invite guests from other confederations. This is primarily due to giving more opportunities from teams in the region to compete, as there was a rise in performances from the region hinted by the FIFA World Ranking. [12] [13]

After a 16-year hiatus from guest nations, Qatar were invited and participated in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, losing in the semi-finals to the United States. Qatar also participated in the 2023 Gold Cup, where they lost 4–0 to Panama in the quarter-finals. [14]

Invitees nations record

TeamConfederation 1996 1998 2000 2002 2003 2005 2021 2023 Editions
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil CONMEBOL 2nd3rd  2nd   3
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia CONMEBOL   2nd QFSF  3
Flag of Peru (state).svg  Peru CONMEBOL   SF     1
Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea AFC   GS4th    2
Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador CONMEBOL    GS    1
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa CAF      QF  1
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar AFC       SFQF2

Media coverage

In the United States, the CONCACAF Gold Cup airs on Fox Sports and Univision (since 2000). In Mexico it airs on Televisa and TV Azteca. In Canada, after years on Sportsnet and TSN, it has been broadcast exclusively on OneSoccer since 2021. Indonesia is NET. Concacaf also streams Gold Cup matches on YouTube with some geo-restrictions.

Trophy

The Gold Cup trophy is awarded to the champions of the tournament. The design of the trophy has changed multiple times since its inaugural version. Changes include scaling down of the size as well as replacing the original flat rectangular base with an elevated round pedestal. The base includes engravings of the champion nation with the year in which they won the trophy.

See also

Related Research Articles

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The CONCACAF Gold Cup is North America's major tournament in senior men's football and determines the continental champion. Until 1989, the tournament was known as CONCACAF Championship. It is currently held every two years. From 1996 to 2005, nations from other confederations have regularly joined the tournament as invitees. In earlier editions, the continental championship was held in different countries, but since the inception of the Gold Cup in 1991, the United States are constant hosts or co-hosts.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is North America's major tournament in senior men's football and determines the continental champion. Until 1989, the tournament was known as the CONCACAF Championship. It is currently held every two years. From 1996 to 2005, nations from other confederations have regularly joined the tournament as invitees. In earlier editions, the continental championship was held in different countries, but since the inception of the Gold Cup in 1991, the United States are constant hosts or co-hosts.

References

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  14. "2021 Concacaf Gold Cup to include 2019 AFC Asian Cup Champions Qatar as guest participant". CONCACAF. 4 September 2020. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2020.