- Competition to serve as the qualifier for Concacaf’s inaugural W Gold Cup
- 33 Concacaf women's national teams have been split into three leagues
- Official draw will take place on May 17 in Miami at 7:00 pm ET
Miami, FL (Thursday, April 27, 2023) – Concacaf today confirmed important details for the 2023 Road to W Gold Cup, which will serve as the qualifier for the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup. The qualifying tournament is scheduled to take place during the FIFA Women’s International Match Windows of September, October, and November 2023 and will include the participation of 33 Concacaf Member Associations divided into three leagues.
The Concacaf W Gold Cup is the region’s premier competition for women’s senior national teams and is a key part of the "Concacaf W" women's football strategy the Confederation launched in 2019. The inaugural competition will be played between February 17 – March 10, 2024, in the United States.
More details on the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup, including the nations which have already qualified, are available here.
2023 ROAD TO CONCACAF W GOLD CUP
Following the conclusion of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand in August, where a record six Concacaf Nations will participate, the road to the first-ever Concacaf W Gold Cup will begin.
33 Concacaf women's national teams, excluding the two who will compete in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games Women’s Football Tournament (USA and Canada or Jamaica), will be split into three leagues according to their Concacaf Women’s Ranking as of March 2023, as follows (listed in ranking order):
League A (nine top-ranked teams divided into three groups of three): Canada or Jamaica (Olympic Play-In loser), Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Saint Kitts and Nevis
League B (next 12 best-ranked teams divided into three groups of four teams): El Salvador, Guyana, Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Nicaragua, Antigua and Barbuda, Honduras, Suriname, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Martinique, Barbados, and Dominica
League C (lowest 12 ranked teams divided into three groups of four teams): US Virgin Islands, Belize, Curacao, Cayman Islands, Aruba, Grenada, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Bahamas, and Sint Maarten.
After home and away group stage play, within each League, in the FIFA Women’s International match windows of September, October, and November 2023, the top finishers in each of the League A groups (three teams) will qualify for the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup Group Stage.
Furthermore, the second-place finishers in each of the League A groups (three teams) and the first-place finishers in each of the League B groups (three teams) will advance to the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup Prelims (six teams in total).
2023 ROAD TO CONCACAF W GOLD CUP OFFICIAL DRAW
On Wednesday, May 17, the Confederation will conduct a draw for each League. The made-for-tv event will take place in Miami, FL at 7:00 pm ET.
Fans will be able to follow all the action through the Confederation’s partner networks, including CBS/Paramount+ (USA-Eng), ESPN/Star+ (Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, and South America), for all other territories through the Concacaf Official Platforms (subject to territory restrictions).
The draws will be executed using a single-blind system involving three pots for League A, four pots for League B, and four pots for League C.
All Concacaf Member Associations participating in the 2023 Road to Concacaf W Gold Cup Group Stage have been allocated in a League pot based on the Concacaf Women’s Rankings as of March 2023.
The pots for each League are as follows (listed in ranking order per Pot, with the highest-ranked teams in Pot 1):
League A
Pot 1: Canada or Jamaica (Olympic Playoff loser), Costa Rica, and Mexico
Pot 2: Panama, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago
Pot 3: Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Saint Kitts and Nevis
League B
Pot 1: El Salvador, Guyana, and Dominican Republic
Pot 2: Bermuda, Nicaragua, and Antigua and Barbuda
Pot 3: Honduras, Suriname, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Pot 4: Martinique, Barbados, and Dominica
League C
Pot 1: US Virgin Islands, Belize, and Curacao
Pot 2: Cayman Islands, Aruba, and Grenada
Pot 3: Anguilla, Turks and Caicos Islands, and British Virgin Islands
Pot 4: Guadeloupe, Bahamas, and Sint Maarten
The draw for each league will begin by randomly selecting a team from Pot 1 and placing that nation in Group A of their respective league. The draw will continue by selecting the remaining teams from Pot 1 and positioning them into a group in sequential order. The same process will be done for the remaining pots.
At the end of each draw, each group will contain one nation from each pot.
