CONCACAF and CONMEBOL talking about holding another joint Copa America
Copa America Centenario was such a success that CONCACAF and CONMEBOL are discussing making a similar tournament a permanent part of the soccer calendar. CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani told ESPN FC that the two sides are in the midst of talks that are "beyond preliminary."
"We've had those discussions with CONMEBOL (the South American confederation) because I think it makes sense," said Montagliani. "We're not talking about joining the confederations, but I think it behooves us to take a serious look at having another combined tournament.
"The discussions aren't at the final stages or even halfway, but it's beyond preliminary."
Copa America is the tournament CONMEBOL holds to crown the champion of South America. However, to celebrate the competition's 100th anniversary, they decided to host a special edition mega tournament in the summer of 2016. Instead of it just being South American teams, they brought along the five best teams from CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean) for a 16-team tournament that brought in giant crowds around the U.S. It also set TV rating records on FS1 and Univision.
With that success, it's no wonder that CONCACAF and CONMEBOL want to make the tournament happen again. Various figures involved in both have hinted at it being a possibility again, but Montagliani confirming that the two parties are discussing is a next, major step.
The next joint Copa America could come as soon as 2020, the year after CONMEBOL holds their Copa America and CONCACAF holds their Gold Cup. Whether the tournament would be played in the U.S. again or go elsewhere is still unclear.
