CONCACAF Gold Cup coming to San Diego

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: November 20, 2023

2024 CONCACAF World Cup Soccer

From staff and wire reports

MIAMI – The championship final of the 20024 CONCACAF World Cup soccer tournament will be held in San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium. The announcement came Tuesday (Nov. 6) from the offices of USA Soccer . The championship will be held on Mar.ch 10, 2024.

Team USA will attempt to defend it championshp when they defeated Jamiaca.

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Concacaf has announced that the Final of the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup, the region’s new flagship competition for women’s senior national teams, has been awarded to Snapdragon Stadium. San Diego’s newest sports venue is home to the San Diego Wave FC of the NWSL and recently hosted a sold-out 2023 Gold Cup semifinal between the men’s national teams of the United States and Panama.

The 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup will be played between February 17 – March 10, 2024, and will include the participation of eight Concacaf Member Associations and four CONMEBOL guests. CONMEBOL’s teams have been invited as part of a strategic collaboration agreement between both Confederations. Thus far, the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Paraguay have qualified for the Group Stage, and El Salvador for the Prelims. The eight remaining Concacaf participants will be confirmed the first week of December after the conclusion of the 2023 Road to Concacaf W Gold Cup.

The Final, on Sunday, March 10, will crown the first-ever Concacaf W Gold Cup champion, culminating almost five years of unprecedented growth for the women’s game in our region. Since launching its Concacaf W strategy in 2019, which includes hosting elite football tournaments such as the Concacaf W Championship and the Concacaf W Gold Cup, the Confederation has been working with its Member Associations and other stakeholders to prioritize the growth of women’s football, providing all teams a platform to compete to reach their next level.

Concacaf has also confirmed that the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup Official Draw will take place on Monday, December 11, 2023, in Miami, FL. The made-for-tv event will divide the 12 teams participating in the Group Stage into three groups of four.

“San Diego and Snapdragon Stadium will be a tremendous host for our inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup Final, and I want to thank the city and the venue for their commitment to working with us to further grow women’s football in our region,” said Concacaf President and FIFA Vice President, Victor Montagliani.

“When we launched our women’s football strategy, we committed to developing the sport for women and girls at all levels. Much work has been done in the past four years, ranging from delivering more girls football projects in our region and implementing enhanced women’s coaching initiatives in the Caribbean and Central America. The Concacaf W Gold Cup is the pinnacle of the women’s game in our Confederation, and it will provide an opportunity to celebrate that progress and commit to doing even more in the future. The tournament will showcase some of the best teams and players in the world, and I can’t wait to see the football unfold next spring and to crown a champion in San Diego on March 10, 2024,” added Montagliani.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be the host venue for the inaugural Women’s Gold Cup. This is a historic moment in women’s sports, and we are honored to be part of it. Snapdragon Stadium is committed to providing a world-class experience for the athletes, fans, and everyone involved in the tournament,” said Adam Millar, Snapdragon Stadium General Manager

“We are fired up to be welcoming the best women’s soccer players in the world to San Diego for the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup in March! It has been a tremendous opportunity to work with the Concacaf team to make this happen, and we are looking forward to a spectacular event,” said Mark Neville, Sports San Diego CEO.

Tickets for the Concacaf W Gold Cup, including the Final at Snapdragon Stadium, will be available to the public following the official draw on December 11. Click here (concacaf.com/wgoldcup/tickets) to sign up to receive additional information about the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup.

More information about the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup is available below. The remaining host venues and the competition’s match schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup Competition Details

Prelims: Six teams
The Preliminary Round (Prelims) is composed of a single round that will be played on February 17, 2024. The six participants, to be determined via the 2023 Road to Concacaf W Gold Cup, will be divided into three pairings according to the Concacaf Women’s Ranking of December 2023 as follows:

Highest-ranked team vs lowest ranked team
Second-ranked team vs Fifth-ranked team
Third-ranked team vs Fourth-ranked team

After single-match elimination play, the winning team in each pairing will advance to the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup Group Stage. Thus far, El Salvador has secured its participation in the Prelims. The remaining five participants will be confirmed at the conclusion of the 2023 Road to Concacaf W Gold Cup.

Group Stage: 12 teams
The Group Stage will include the participation of eight Concacaf Member Associations and four CONMEBOL guests. Teams will be split into three groups of four. Following round-robin play, between February 20-28, 2024, the group winners, runners-up, and the two best third-place finishers will advance to the Knockout Stage (eight teams in total).

Thus far, six teams have secured their participation in the Group Stage. These teams are (listed chronologically based on date of qualification):

United States (2022 W Championship winner)
Brazil (2022 CONMEBOL Women’s Copa America winner)
Colombia (2022 CONMEBOL Women’s Copa America runners-up)
Argentina (2022 CONMEBOL Women’s Copa America third place)
Paraguay (2022 CONMEBOL Women’s Copa America fourth place)
Canada (2023 Concacaf Olympic Play-In winner)

The six other teams participating in the Group Stage will include the 2023 Road to Concacaf W Gold Cup League A Group winners (three teams) and the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup Prelims matchup winners (three teams).

Knockout Stage: eight teams and three rounds
The Knockout Stage includes Quarterfinals (March 2 and 3), Semifinals (March 6), and the Final on Sunday, March 10, 2024. All three Knockout Stage rounds will be played in a single-match direct elimination format.

Official Draw

On Monday, December 11, 2023, Concacaf will conduct the official draw for the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup. The event will start at 7:00 pm ET and will be widely available for fans across the region to follow and enjoy through the Confederation’s TV partner networks, including CBS | Paramount+ (USA-English) and ESPN (Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, and South America). Fans can also follow live updates across Concacaf’s Social Media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and X.

The draw will begin by placing the pre-seeded teams in their pre-assigned groups. Once confirmed, the draw will continue by drawing the spheres from Pot 2 and placing the teams in sequential order in Groups A, B, and C. The exact process will be replicated for Pots 3 and 4. Once all national teams have been assigned a group, the draw will conclude.

About the Concacaf W Gold Cup
The Concacaf W Gold Cup is the Confederation’s premier tournament for women’s national teams. The event’s inaugural edition will be held in the United States between February 17 and March 10, 2024, and it will feature the best 15 teams across two Confederations (Concacaf and CONMEBOL). Fans will have an unmissable opportunity to watch some of the world’s greatest players as they compete to be crowned Concacaf W Gold Cup Champions. Visit Concacaf.com/WGoldCup for more information.

About Concacaf
The Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) is one of FIFA’s six continental confederations, servicing 41 Member Associations, from Canada in the north to Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana in the south. Concacaf means football first. Our members are united by a shared vision: Love For Our Game, as well as a unique mission, to develop, promote and manage football throughout the region with integrity, transparency, and passion in order to inspire participation in the game. Visit Concacaf.com for more information.

About Snapdragon Stadium
Snapdragon Stadium is a 35,000-seat multipurpose venue owned by San Diego State University and managed by OVG360. As part of SDSU Mission Valley, Snapdragon Stadium serves as a year-round entertainment destination and hub of community engagement. The venue is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification and manages sustainability efforts as a top priority. Snapdragon Stadium is home to SDSU Aztec Football, San Diego Wave FC of the National Women’s Soccer League, San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby, and newly announced MLS team, San Diego FC. In addition to tenant events, Snapdragon Stadium will host a myriad of events including concerts, festivals, dirt shows, international sporting events, championships, community events, private and corporate events and more. Visit SnapdragonStadium.com for more information.