Organizing body | CONCACAF |
---|---|
Founded | 2018 |
Region | North America |
Number of teams | 41 |
Qualifier for | Gold Cup & Copa América |
Current champion(s) | United States (3rd title) |
Most successful team(s) | United States (3 titles) |
Website | Nations League |
2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League |
The CONCACAF Nations League (Spanish : Liga de Naciones CONCACAF, French : Ligue des Nations de la CONCACAF) is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America. The tournament takes place on dates allocated for international friendlies on the FIFA International Match Calendar. A one-time qualifying tournament took place from September 2018 to March 2019 and the inaugural tournament began in September 2019. [1] [2]
The tournament was announced in November 2017. [3] It is divided into three tiered leagues, A, B, and C, of four groups each, with promotion and relegation between the leagues based on finishing position within groups. The group winners of League A enter a four-team knockout competition to be crowned champion, while the group winners of Leagues B and C are promoted to the next tier. In Leagues A and B, the four teams at the bottom of the groups are relegated to the next lower tier. [4] The tournament also determines which national teams qualify for the next edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. [3]
The format proposals were first formally investigated at the XXXII CONCACAF Ordinary Congress in Oranjestad, Aruba on 8 April 2017 [5] [6] and confirmed by CONCACAF on 16 November 2017. [3] CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani stated that the purpose of the competition is to have a regular schedule of international fixtures for CONCACAF's national teams, noting that some teams play fewer than 10 games in a four-year period and needed more competitive games to assist the sport's development in those nations. [7] [8]
On 28 February 2023, CONCACAF announced a format change for the 2023–24 season of the CONCACAF Nations League. As a result, no teams will be relegated from the 2022–23 season. [9]
The size of League A will be increased from 12 to 16 teams, and will now feature a quarter-final round. The 12 lowest-ranked teams in the CONCACAF Rankings of March 2023 will enter the group stage, now using a Swiss-system tournament format. The teams will be divided into two groups of six teams, with each team playing four matches against group opponents (two at home and two away). The top four teams will advance to the quarter-finals and will be joined by the four top-ranked teams in the CONCACAF Rankings. The teams advancing from the group stage will be drawn into ties against the top-ranked teams, which will be played on a two-legged home-and-away basis.
League B will remain unchanged, featuring sixteen teams divided into four groups of four. Each team will play six matches in a double round-robin home-and-away format (three at home and three away). Following the format change, League C will be reduced from 13 to nine teams and four to three groups. Teams will be divided into three groups of three teams, with each team playing four matches in a double round-robin home-and-away format (two at home and two away). [9]
Promotion and relegation will resume for the 2023–24 season, with the fifth and sixth-placed teams in League A and the fourth-placed teams in League B being relegated for the next season. The group winners of Leagues B and C will be promoted, as will the best second-placed team of League C. [9]
The CONCACAF Nations League trophy was unveiled eight days before the inaugural Nations League Finals. The trophy represents all 41 CONCACAF national associations and is made of silver-plated brass and stone. The trophy weighs 8 kg (18 lb) and is 52 cm (20 in) tall. [10]
Each season of the CONCACAF Nations League is typically played from September to November (league phase), and March or June of the following year (Nations League Finals of League A). An exception was made in the 2022–23 season when the league phase was played from June 2022 to March 2023, due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup played in Qatar at the end of the year.
Ed. | Season | Host | Final | Third place play-off | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winners | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||||
1 | 2019–20 Finals | United States | United States | 3–2 ( a.e.t. ) Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado | Mexico | Honduras | 2–2(5–4 p) Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado | Costa Rica | ||
2 | 2022–23 Finals | United States | 2–0 Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada | Canada | Mexico | 1–0 Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada | Panama | |||
3 | 2023–24 Finals | United States | 2–0 AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas | Mexico | Jamaica | 1–0 AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas | Panama | |||
4 | 2024–25 Finals |
Team | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | 3 (2021, 2023, 2024) | 3 | |||
Mexico | 2 (2021, 2024) | 1 (2023) | 3 | ||
Canada | 1 (2023) | 1 | |||
Honduras | 1 (2021) | 1 | |||
Jamaica | 1 (2024) | 1 | |||
Panama | 2 (2023, 2024) | 2 | |||
Costa Rica | 1 (2021) | 1 |
Country/region | Broadcaster | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|
Free | Pay | ||
Aruba | Telearuba | ||
Canada | OneSoccer | [12] | |
Caribbean | Flow | [12] | |
El Salvador | TCS | Millicom | [13] |
Guatemala | RTVG | ||
Nicaragua | Viva Nicaragua | ||
Honduras | TVC | ||
Costa Rica | Repretel | ||
Teletica | |||
Multimedios TV | |||
Mexico | TV Azteca | ||
TelevisaUnivision | |||
Curaçao | TeleCuraçao | ||
Jamaica | CVM (delayed) | ||
Panama | RPC-TV | ||
TVN | |||
TVMax | |||
Suriname | ATV | ||
STVS | |||
United States | CBS | Paramount+ (English) | [14] [15] [16] |
CBS Sports Network (English, finals only) | |||
Univision (Spanish) | VIX |
All matches are streamed through CONCACAF's streaming service CONCACAF GO.
Country/region | Broadcaster | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|
Free | Pay | ||
Sport Klub | |||
Brunei | Astro SuperSport | ||
Malaysia | |||
Netherlands | ESPN | ||
South America |
Edition | Best Player | Top scorer | Best Goalkeeper | Best young player | Fair Play Award | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019-20 | Weston McKennie | Gleofilo Vlijter | Luis López | Barbados | [17] | |
2022-23 | Christian Pulisic | Gerwin Lake | Matt Turner | Panama | [18] | |
2023-24 | Gio Reyna | Omari Glasgow | Matt Turner | Omari Glasgow | Panama | [19] |
The CONCACAF Gold Cup 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.
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF, is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 41 member associations represent countries and territories mainly in North America, including the Caribbean and Central America, and, for geopolitical reasons, three nations from the Guianas subregion of South America—Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. The CONCACAF's primary functions are to organize competitions for national teams and clubs, and to conduct the World Cup and Women's World Cup qualifying tournaments.
The Mexico national football team represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation. It competes as a member of CONCACAF.
The Suriname national football team represents Suriname in international football. The team is controlled by the Surinamese Football Association, which is a member of CONCACAF.
The Grenada national football team represents Grenada in international football, and is controlled by the Grenada Football Association, a member of the Caribbean Football Union of CONCACAF. The team is nicknamed The Spice Boys, a reference to the country being nicknamed the "Island of Spice" or the "Spice Isle".
The Guadeloupe national football team represents the French overseas department and region of Guadeloupe in men's international football. The team is controlled by the Ligue guadeloupéenne de football, a local branch of French Football Federation.
The CONCACAF W Championship is an association football competition organized by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) that often serves as the qualifying competition to the Women's World Cup, and recently the Olympics. In years when the tournament has been held outside the World Cup qualifying cycle, non-CONCACAF members have been invited. CONCACAF is the governing body for football for North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The most successful country has been the United States, winning their ninth title in 2022.
The CONCACAF Champions Cup is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The winner of the CONCACAF Champions Cup automatically qualifies for the FIFA Club World Cup.
The North American Football Union is a regional grouping under CONCACAF of national football organizations in the North American Zone. The NAFU has no organizational structure. The statutes say "CONCACAF shall recognize ... The North American Football Union (NAFU)". The NAFU provide one of CONCACAF's representatives to the FIFA Executive Committee.
The 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League was the 4th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current format, and overall the 47th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament began on July 26, 2011 and finished with the second leg of the final April 25, 2012.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 remaining FIFA member associations were eligible to enter the qualifying process, and for the first time in World Cup history, all eligible national teams registered for the preliminary competition, but Zimbabwe and Indonesia were disqualified before playing their first matches. Bhutan, South Sudan, Gibraltar and Kosovo made their FIFA World Cup qualification debuts, while Myanmar participated after successfully appealing against a ban from the competition, although the team was obliged to play its home matches outside the country.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will decide the teams that will join hosts Canada, Mexico and the United States at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification process decided all 24 teams which played in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, with the hosts France qualifying automatically. It is the eighth FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football world championship tournament. The tournament is the third to be hosted in Europe, after the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sweden and the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany.
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.
The 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League was the inaugural season of the CONCACAF Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 41 member associations of CONCACAF. The Nations League qualifying tournament also served as part of the qualifying process for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which was expanded from twelve to sixteen teams. The group stage of the tournament also served as qualification for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Finals, which decided the inaugural champions, was originally scheduled to be played in June 2020. However, on 3 April 2020 CONCACAF postponed the event until March 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 22 September 2020, it was announced that the event was again rescheduled until June 2021. On 24 February 2021, CONCACAF confirmed the dates for the rescheduled Nations League Finals, 3 and 6 June 2021 with the venue later confirmed as Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado, United States.
The 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A was the top division of the 2019–20 edition of the CONCACAF Nations League, the inaugural season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 41 member associations of CONCACAF. League A culminated with the final championship in June 2021 to crown the inaugural champions of the CONCACAF Nations League.
The North, Central American and Caribbean section of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as the qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar, for national teams which are members of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). Three direct slots and one inter-confederation play-off slot in the final tournament were available for CONCACAF teams.
The CONCACAF W Gold Cup is an international women's football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the member associations of CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. It was announced in December 2020, initially unnamed though referred to as a "Women's CONCACAF Nations League". The branding was announced in August 2021, with CONCACAF describing the tournament as their "flagship women's international competition".