The Gold Cup returns to Mexico for the first time in a decade as Mexico City joins Miami and Foxboro, Mass., as host cities for the 2003 CONCACAF championship that will include two guest teams from outside the region.
South AmericaÆs Brazil and Colombia will join the 10 nations from CONCACAF, which comprises North, Central America and the Caribbean, for the July 12-27 competition. The USA is defending champion.
The USA hosted the Gold Cup exclusively in 1991, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002. Mexico and the USA co-hosted in 1993.
Mexico CityÆs Azteca Stadium will host the final, one quarterfinal, one semifinal and one of the four three-team groups.
New Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., will host two groups and a quarterfinal doubleheader.
The Orange Bowl in Miami will host one group, a quarterfinal, a semifinal and the third-place match.
The schedule:
The first round: July 12-17.
Quarterfinals: July 19-20.
Semifinals: July 23-24.
Third-place game: July 26.
Final: July 27.
The three previous champions of the six prior tournaments — Canada (2000), Mexico (1993, 1996, 1998) and the USA (1991, 2002) — qualified automatically for the tournament.
Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador qualified through the UNCAF Nations Cup.
Two teams — group winners — will qualify from the Caribbean Zone qualifying tournaments March 26-30. The second-place teams will join Honduras (Central Zone fourth-place finisher) in a three-team playoff to be played by the end of April, the top two advancing to round out the 10 CONCACAF participants.
Colombia qualifies as South American champion. (Similarly, the Gold Cup winner earns a spot in the next Copa America.) 2003 will mark ColombiaÆs second appearance in the Gold Cup, having lost the 2000 final to Canada.
Brazil arrives for its third Gold Cup appearance. It fielded a U-23 team in finishing runner-up in 1996. In 1998, when it used the Gold Cup as part of its World Cup preparations, Brazil lost, 1-0, to the USA in the semifinals.