South American soccer nations might send their best back to the United States in a few years’ time.
CONMEBOL, the South American soccer confederation, has decided to change its Copa America schedule to coincide with the quadrennial European Championships starting in 2020, Globo Esporte’s Martin Fernandez reported Friday. Brazil will host Copa American 2019 as scheduled. CONMEBOL then will stage the tournament again in 2020 and every fourth years afterward. Ecuador will no longer host Copa America in 2023.
Fernandez also reported the United States is the leading candidate to host Copa America 2020. The U.S. hosted a Copa America “Centenario” in June 2016, from which each national federation banked $7 million for the three-week competition.
Copa America 2016 was supposed to be a one-off event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Copa America, but Fernandez reported in January that CONMEBOL’s highest officials were already discussing staging another Copa America on U.S. soil.
Fernandez’s latest report suggests CONMEBOL has decided on a stateside return. The South Americans would need the blessings of FIFA, CONCACAF, the confederation of North and Central America plus the Caribbean, and the U.S. Soccer Federation in order to make their Copa America 2020 dreams a reality.
Judging by the runaway sporting and commercial success of Copa America 2016, soccer fans in the United States should prepare themselves for another Pan-American classic.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images
