W Gold Cup heads up 2024 national team tournament schedule

MIAMI, Florida – As 2023 draws to a close, the Concacaf region will soon shift its focus to 2024. It will be another very busy year for national teams across the region, with major tournaments scheduled to take place for both men’s and women’s teams.

2024 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship

The year will start with the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship, which is scheduled to take place February 1-11 in Toluca, Mexico. The United States will be out to defend their crown and claim a sixth title overall. At the conclusion of the event, the top three finishers will join the Dominican Republic (World Cup host) in the 2024 FIFA Women's U-17 World Cup, for a total of four Concacaf participants.

2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup

That same month, the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup will kick off among 15 teams in four different cities. Among the participants are four-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champions the United States, reigning Olympic Gold Medal winners Canada, 2026 Women’s World Cup sides Costa Rica, Panama and Haiti, plus another five teams from Concacaf and four invited teams from South America, including 2022 Copa America Femenina winners Brazil.

The venues for the first ever W Gold Cup will be Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson California and Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas. Snapdragon Stadium will host the Final, which is scheduled to take place on March 10.

2024 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship Qualifiers

Another competition set to start in February and end in early March will be the Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship Qualifiers. The tournament will take place February 23-March 2, across five venues in Central America and the Caribbean. Twenty-seven teams will be divided into three groups of five and three groups of four. After round-robin play, the first-place team from each group will advance to the 2024 Concacaf Men's U-20 Championship, joining the six pre-seeded top-ranked nations.

Concacaf Nations League Finals

Later in March, the third edition of the Concacaf Nations League will wrap up with the CNL Finals at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The United States will be out to win their third title in as many editions of the tournament, but they will have to deal with three strong challengers in the form of Mexico, Jamaica and Panama. The semifinals are slotted for March 21, while the Third-Place Match and Final will take place on March 24.

Also taking place that same week in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are the two Concacaf Nations League Play-In matches, which are set for March 23 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. Canada will face Trinidad and Tobago, while Costa Rica will take on Honduras. The winner of each Play-In will advance to the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024.

First Round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifying

During the same international window in March, the First Round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifying for USA/Mexico/Canada 2026 will begin between the four lowest-ranked Concacaf Member Associations based on the FIFA Men’s Rankings as of November 2023. These home-and-away matches will be played in the FIFA match window of March 2024. At the end of the First Round, the two matchup winners will progress to the Second Round.

The Second Round will begin between the two winners from the First Round and the Confederation’s remaining 28 FIFA member associations during the June 3-11, 2024 FIFA match window.

Road to FIFA World Cup 2026

CONMEBOL Copa America 2024

The Concacaf region will also play host to the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 from June 20-July 14 during which six teams from the Concacaf region will have the opportunity to go up against the 10 nations from CONMEBOL. The United States, Mexico, Jamaica and Panama, along with the winners of the two Concacaf Nations League Play-In matches will represent Concacaf in the tournament.

The last time a CONMEBOL Copa America took place on Concacaf soil was the 2016 Copa America Centenario in the United States. The U.S. enjoyed the best finish by a Concacaf team with a Fourth-Place finish. Mexico have had great success in previous editions of the Copa America, reaching the Final in 1993 and 2001, plus Third-Place finishes in 1997, 1999 and 2007.

2024 will be the Concacaf Futsal Championship

Also taking place in 2024 will be the Concacaf Futsal Championship. The Confederation's qualifying competition for the FIFA Futsal World Cup will take place between April 13-20, 2024, at the Polideportivo Alexis Arguello in Managua, Nicaragua, and will include the participation of 12 Concacaf Member Associations.

The semifinalists will represent Concacaf in the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024. Thew reigning champions are Costa Rica, who won their fourth title in 2021.