It's official: The Copa America Centenario is on, and will be hosted in the United States next year.
US Soccer announced the news on Friday, saying they will partner with CONCACAF and CONMEBOL to host the one-off tournament as a 100-year anniversary of South America's most prestigious international competition.
The tournament will take place from June 3-26 across the United States, with US Soccer selecting the venues. Hosting stadiums must have a minimum capacity of 50,000.
The special Copa America was announced last year, but the fate of the tournament was thrown into some doubt after the arrests of CONCACAF and CONMEBOL figures in May as part of the onging FIFA scandal, and uncertainty that the United States would ultimately host the tournament.
US Soccer announced a new executive committee for the tournament: "To ensure there is a transparent governance structure in place to oversee the management and execution of the tournament, all three parties agreed to create a new Executive Committee to govern the event," the release said. "The Committee, which will be made up of two representatives from CONMEBOL, two representatives from CONCACAF, and one representative from U.S. Soccer, will oversee policy decisions for the tournament and facilitate greater financial transparency regarding funds collected for broadcasting and sponsorships."
The 2016 Copa America Centenario will feature six teams from CONCACAF, and all 10 teams from CONMEBOL: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
From CONCACAF, host USA and Mexico are automatic qualifiers, while Costa Rica (2014 Copa Centroamericana winner) and Jamaica (2014 Caribbean Cup winner) qualified this fall. The final two teams will be determined through a playoff in the near future.
