US invites South America teams to new 2020 event

NEW YORK: The United States Soccer Federation wants to launch a new international tournament next year featuring 10 sides from South America and the strongest teams from the CONCACAF region.

The New York Times said in a report later confirmed by CONCACAF on Tuesday that USSF president Carlos Cordeiro had sent a letter to the 10 federations that make up CONMEBOL offering to stage the new tournament.

The event, which strongly resembles the successful 2016 Copa America Centenario held throughout the United States, would be held at the same time as the 2020 European Championship.

The proposed event would guarantee nearly $200 million to be shared amongst the invited teams and their ruling bodies, according to the Times.It follows discussions held over the past year between officials from CONMEBOL and CONCACAF about a possible new tournament.

The winners of the tournament would earn more than $11 million. CONCACAF, the governing body responsible for football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, welcomed the US proposal, saying the event would complement its own regional championship, the Gold Cup.

“We view this opportunity positively as it is not intended to replace or substitute any future editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and it complements our vision to continue providing opportunities for our Member Associations to play competitive football at the highest level,” the body said in a statement.

The US proposal will be discussed next week in Miami, ahead of a meeting of FIFA’s Council on March 15.The 2016 Copa America Centenario was staged at venues across the United States to mark the 100th anniversary of the South American footballing showpiece.

The event featured 10 members of South America and six teams from the CONCACAF region.The success of that tournament, which saw Chile beat Argentina in the final on penalties, served as a precursor to the successful North American bid for the 2026 World Cup.

The proposed 2020 tournament would feature a group stage and a knockout round to decide a winner.The Times report noted, however, that it remained to be seen how the US-backed proposal would be greeted by CONMEBOL.