The United States will host the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the confederation’s general secretary, Chuck Blazer, announced March 24. The 2000 edition of the tournament will be played in February at sites to be determined and will be increased to 12 teams — nine from CONCACAF (including holder Mexico and the host USA) and three invited teams, expected to be Japan, South Korea and Colombia. The other CONCACAF competitors will compete in regional qualifying to advance to the Gold Cup, with the top three finishers in the UNCAF Cup (Central America’s competition) and the 1998 and 1999 champions of the Shell Caribbean Cup advancing. The final two entrants will come from a qualifying group of the fourth-place UNCAF country, the 1998 and 1999 Shell Caribbean Cup runners-up and Canada. These four teams will compete in a round-robin tournament to be held at a site and date to be determined. “The 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup established itself as a major international tournament,” said CONCACAF President Jack Warner, “and the early decisions we are now making will ensure that 2000 is yet another vital marker in the progress of this confederation.”