CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification

Last updated
CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification
2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup Prelims.png
Founded1963
RegionNorth America, Central America, and Caribbean (CONCACAF)
Number of teams41 (overall)
Qualifier for CONCACAF Gold Cup
Related competitions CONCACAF Nations League
Soccerball current event.svg 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification

This page is a summary of the CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification, the process that CONCACAF-affiliated national association football teams go through in order to qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Contents

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is an international association football competition held every two years between countries in North America, including Central America and the Caribbean. There have been several formats of qualifying which determine the countries that will participate in the final tournament.

Format evolution

Number of teams entering qualification

CONCACAF Championship (1963–1989)
Flag of El Salvador.svg
1963 		Flag of Guatemala.svg
1965 		Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg
1967 		Flag of Costa Rica.svg
1969 		Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg
1971 		Flag of Haiti (1964-1986).svg
1973 		Flag of Mexico.svg
1977 		Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg
1981 		1985 1989
Total entrants [a] 28810121415151010
Qualified through qualification1145355545
Qualified automatically8521300010
Total finalists9666666695
CONCACAF Gold Cup (1991–present)
Flag of the United States.svg
1991 		Flag of Mexico.svg
Flag of the United States.svg
1993 		Flag of the United States.svg
1996 		Flag of the United States.svg
1998 		Flag of the United States.svg
2000 		Flag of Mexico.svg
Flag of the United States.svg
2002 		Flag of the United States.svg
2003 		Flag of the United States.svg
2005 		Flag of the United States.svg
2007 		Flag of the United States.svg
2009 		Flag of the United States.svg
2011 		Flag of the United States.svg
2013 		Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
Flag of the United States.svg
2015 		Flag of the United States.svg
2017 		Flag of Costa Rica.svg
Flag of Jamaica.svg
Flag of the United States.svg
2019 		Flag of the United States.svg
2021 		Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
Flag of the United States.svg
2023 		Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
Flag of the United States.svg
2025
Total entrants [a] 212726303331293832333732333134414141
Qualified through qualification4556667779999910151515
Qualified automatically433323333333336000
Total finalists889101212121212121212121216161616
  1. 1 2 Data is about qualifications only (automatic qualifiers are not counted).

Resume

For 1963 to 1989, regional qualifiers were played for each sub-confederation.

From 1991 to 2017, similar qualification processes were used. Spots in the Gold Cup were allocated to each of the sub-confederations: the North American Football Union (NAFU), the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), and the Central American Football Union (UNCAF). Typically the NAFU would receive three berths in the tournament, and the remaining berths were divided between CFU and UNCAF. Because the NAFU only has three members, each country (Canada, Mexico, United States) would qualify automatically. The CFU and UNCAF would use the results of the Caribbean Cup and Copa Centroamericana to determine its entrants to the Gold Cup.

From 1996 to 2005, some nations from outside the CONCACAF region received invitations to the Gold Cup and did not need to qualify. From 1998 to 2003 and again from 2015 to 2017, specific qualifying tournaments were held to determine the final one or two spots in the Gold Cup. [1]

For the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the two berths allocated to the Caribbean Football Union were to be awarded to the winners of the 1996 and 1997 Caribbean Cups. Because Trinidad and Tobago won both tournaments, a one match playoff between the two runners-up was played.

For the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Canada did not qualify automatically and competed in a round-robin playoff along with two Caribbean and one Central American nation. The top two teams would qualify for the Gold Cup.

The final spot in the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup was determined by a two-leg playoff between the fourth place team at the 2001 Caribbean Cup and the fourth place team at the 2001 UNCAF Nations Cup. This format would be re-used in 2015 and 2017.

There was not a Caribbean Cup held before the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup to determine the CFU's entrants. Instead, a one-off CFU Qualifying Tournament was held to determine the two Gold Cup participants and the two playoff participants. The two Caribbean teams were joined by the fourth place team in the 2003 UNCAF Nations Cup in a round-robin playoff for two spots in the Gold Cup.

From 2007 to 2017, no nations from outside the CONCACAF region participated in the Gold Cup. The 12-team tournament consisted of three North American, five Central American, and four Caribbean teams. For the 2015 and 2017 tournaments, the fifth Central American spot was awarded to the winner of a two-leg playoff featuring the 5th place teams from the Copa Centroamericana and the Caribbean Cup. [2] [3] The Central American team won the playoff on both occasions.

Beginning with the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, qualification has been linked to the CONCACAF Nations League. Held in 2018–19, the one-off CONCACAF Nations League qualifying tournament determined ten of the sixteen Gold Cup participants. For the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, twelve spots were awarded based on the results of the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League, an invitation was given to Qatar, and the final three berths were determined from a two-round play-off qualifier. [4]

Participating teams

All national teams that are members of CONCACAF are eligible to enter the qualification for the Gold Cup. A total of 41 distinct entities have made attempts to qualify for the Gold Cup. Due to political changes, one of the entity has appeared under one incarnation (see the footnotes to the below table), the Netherlands Antilles team is now defunct.

First appearance in qualification by team
YearDebuting teamsSuccessor teamsRenamed teams
TeamsNo.CT
1963 Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador [a] , Flag of Haiti (1859-1964).svg  Haiti , Flag of the Netherlands Antilles (1959-1986).svg  Netherlands Antilles [A] 33
1965 Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala [b] , Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras , Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua 36
1967 Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba , Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica , Flag of Panama.svg  Panama , Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago 410
1969 Flag of Bermuda 1910.svg  Bermuda , Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica , Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico , Flag of the United States.svg  United States 414
1971 Flag of Guyana.svg  Guyana , Flag of Suriname.svg  Suriname 216
1973 Flag of Antigua and Barbuda.svg  Antigua and Barbuda , Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada , Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico 319
1977 Flag of Barbados.svg  Barbados , Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic 221
1981 Flag of Grenada.svg  Grenada 122
1985 022
1989 022
1991 Flag of Anguilla.svg  Anguilla , Flag of the British Virgin Islands.svg  British Virgin Islands , Flag of the Cayman Islands (pre-1999).svg  Cayman Islands , Flag of French Guiana.svg  French Guiana , Flag of Guadeloupe (local).svg  Guadeloupe , Snake Flag of Martinique.svg  Martinique , Flag of Montserrat.svg  Montserrat , Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg  Saint Kitts and Nevis , Flag of Saint Lucia (1979-2002).svg  Saint Lucia 931
1993 Flag of Dominica.svg  Dominica , Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.svg  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , Flag of Sint Maarten.svg  Sint Maarten [c] 334
1996 Flag of Aruba.svg  Aruba , Flag of Belize.svg  Belize 236
1998 036
2000 Flag of the Bahamas.svg  Bahamas , Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands.svg  Turks and Caicos Islands , Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg  U.S. Virgin Islands 339
2002 Flag of France.svg  Saint Martin 140
2003 040
2005 040
2007 040
2009 040
2011 040
2013 040Flag of Curacao.svg  Curaçao [A]
2015 Flag of Bonaire.svg  Bonaire [c] 141
2017 041
2019 041
2021 041
2023 041
2025 041
Successor teams inheriting the records of former teams (as considered by CONCACAF and FIFA)
  1. ↑ Qualified automatically for the 1963 CONCACAF Championship as host.
  2. ↑ Qualified automatically for the 1965 CONCACAF Championship as host.
  3. 1 2 Bonaire and Sint Maarten previously competed as parts of the Netherlands Antilles (1958–2010).
Teams competing as parts of other teams
  1. 1 2 The Netherlands Antilles national football team broke apart after the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "CONCACAF Gold Cup: Qualifying Play-In Glance". CONCACAF.com. 3 February 2017. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  2. ↑ CONCACAF Free Kick. CONCACAF.com. June–July 2014. p. 7.
  3. ↑ Williams, Sean (18 March 2014). "Jamaica to host 2014 Caribbean Cup". Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "Concacaf Nations League to Serve as Pathway for 2021 Gold Cup". CONCACAF. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
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