RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Argentina and Colombia will share hosting duties for the 2020 Copa America, which will be played with a new format.
South America's soccer body CONMEBOL confirmed the dual hosts on Tuesday during a meeting in Rio de Janeiro, where the final of this year's tournament will take place on July 7.
CONMEBOL said 10 South American teams plus two guests will play in the competition in 2020, the same number as this year's edition. However, they will be divided into two groups of six based on geography with a north and south region.
Colombia will be paired with Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and one of the guests.
Argentina will welcome Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay and the other guest.
"The core objective of this change was to make it easier for fans to get geographically closer to the matches," said CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez.
The top four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, but the host cities for the knockout games have not yet been announced.
The new format means the tournament will comprise of 38 matches, 12 more than the current one.
This year's Copa America in Brazil, which kicks off on June 14, will be the last to be played in an even year. After 2020, the South American tournament will once again be held every four years.
The two invited teams for the 2019 edition are Japan and 2022 World Cup host Qatar.
