According to the Mexican media outlet Diario Record, the CONCACAF Gold Cup is set for a major expansion.
According to media report, the the 2025 Gold Cup will include eight clubs from outside of CONCACAF. 16 CONCACAF teams typically feature in the Gold Cup. The new expansion will bring the tournament size to 24 teams. According to the report, the tournament will feature two teams from Europe, two from Asia, two from Africa, and two from CONMEBOL’s South American region.
This aligns form what we heard recently with the announcement that COPA America 2024 would be held in the U.S. As part off that announcement, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL announced that the United States, Canada and Mexico would host a major tournament in 2025. Essentially, it is a dry attempt for host stadiums at the 2026 World Cup. The three North American nations are all co-hosting the next World Cup tournament.
A Gold Cup expansion would be a huge win for the United States, Canada and Mexico. It would provide each nation with a competitive set of fixtures a year before the World Cup. The idea is also attractive to national teams that have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup was this would essentially give these nations a solid feel for a summer tournament in North America.
Gold Cup 2025 expansion would need approval from other confederations and FIFA. However, it is not likely that the world’s governing body of the sport would have an issue with the expansion. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has spoken regularly about expanding other global competitions.
For soccer fans in the U.S., we are entering into an unprecedented series of high quality international soccer tournaments. Along with the likely expansion of the 2025 Gold Cup and the 2026 World Cup, the U.S. will also host the 2024 Copa America, the 2028 Olympics, and possibly the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
