Canada to host Gold Cup games for first time; USA, Costa Rica & Mexico announced as seeded nations; holiday packages and exclusive presale offering now available

MIAMI (Tuesday, December 16, 2014) – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today the 13 North American cities – Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Toronto – that will welcome the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, next July 7-26. Venues, group seeds and group stage dates for the Gold Cup were also announced.

The region’s marquee national team tournament will again call on world-class venues for next year’s edition, including a mix of NFL stadiums across the country, along with soccer-specific stadiums home to Major League Soccer teams.

“We would like to thank all cities and venues across the United States – and in fact North America as a whole –for their continued interest in our Confederation’s marque event, the Gold Cup. We congratulate those which have been selected to host the 2015 edition,” said CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb. “The explosive growth of the game across CONCACAF has been on display recently on the world’s stage, and we now look forward to bringing this success home to our regional fans during our premier tournament.”

Eleven of next year’s host venues have hosted previous editions of the Gold Cup: the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA (2013); M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, MD (2013); StubHub Center in Carson, CA (2005, 2007, 2009, 2011); Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC (2011); Soldier Field in Chicago, IL (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013); MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ (2011); Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009); BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, TX (2013); Sporting Park in Kansas City, KS (2011); Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA (2009) and the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ (2009). Years in parenthesis denote previous years in which Gold Cup matches were played at each venue.

Dallas’ Toyota Stadium – site of the kickoff for Gold Cup 2015 – and Toronto’s BMO Field will host Gold Cup games for the first time. The matches in Canada will mark the first time the Confederation’s flagship national team event has visited Canadian soil.

The historic Canada doubleheader became a reality thanks to the excellent relationship between CONCACAF and PASO (the Pan American Sports Organization), which cleared the use of the Toronto venue which is also being utilized for the Toronto 2015 Pan American games.

The dates for Gold Cup matches scheduled for each group stage city were also announced, as well as the seeded nations which will head up each group: the United States (Group A), Costa Rica (Group B), and Mexico (Group C). Seeded teams were determined based on current FIFA rankings.

The United States will kick off the 2015 Gold Cup in Dallas’ Toyota Stadium on July 7, before moving on with the rest of Group A to Boston (Gillette Stadium, July 10) and Kansas City (Sporting Park, July 13).

Costa Rica, the seeded team in Group B, begins play in Carson, CA (StubHub Center, July 8), then moves on to Houston’s BBVA Compass Stadium (July 11) and Toronto’s BMO Field (July 14).

Mexico will anchor Group C and play in Chicago (Soldier Field) on July 9, Phoenix (University of Phoenix Stadium, July 12) and Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium on July 15.

The Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, PA), M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore, MD) and MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ) will all host knockout round dates. Complete groups and schedule, including selection of dates and assignment of matches for the knockout round and the awarding of the Final, will be announced in early 2015.

To date, eleven of the twelve national teams scheduled to participate have qualified for next year’s tournament. Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States, in alphabetical order, will compete for the Confederation Crown in July.

The final spot will be decided in March of next year through a play-in series between the fifth-place finisher of the 2014 UNCAF Central American Cup (Honduras) and the 2014 Caribbean Football Union Caribbean Cup (French Guyana). French Guyana will be home team for the first leg on March 25, while Honduras will host the return leg on March 29.

Taking place every two years, the Gold Cup is the official national team championship of the region, routinely drawing capacity crowds and millions of television viewers across the region. Featuring the highest-level players from across the confederation, the tournament includes the three previous Gold Cup champions – Canada (1 Gold Cup), Mexico (6), and the U.S. (5) – as well as the top finishers from the most recent Central American and Caribbean championship tournaments.

Holiday Packages & Exclusive Presale Offering

For the holiday season and for a limited time, special gift packages ‘Give the Gift of Gold Cup’ will be available, including a $25 ticket voucher to any 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup gameday and an official CONCACAF Gold Cup T-Shirt. Fans are encouraged to click here for more information.

Also, for fans interested in being part of an exclusive pre-sale offering for any Gold Cup gameday in 2015, click here for more information.

2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Host Cities & Venues

HOST CITY – VENUE (Venue Location)

Seeded Nations

Group A – United States

Group B – Costa Rica

Group C – Mexico

Group Round

July 7 (Group A) – Dallas – Toyota Stadium (Frisco, TX)

July 8 (Group B) – Los Angeles – StubHub Center (Carson, CA)

July 9 (Group C) – Chicago – Soldier Field (Chicago, IL)

July 10 (Group A) – Boston – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, MA)

July 11 (Group B) – Houston – BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston, TX)

July 12 (Group C) – Phoenix – University of Phoenix Stadium (Phoenix, AZ)

July 13 (Group A) – Kansas City – Sporting Park (Kansas City, KS)

July 14 (Group B) – Toronto – BMO Field (Toronto, ON)

July 15 (Group C) – Charlotte – Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC)

Knockout Round Venues (alphabetical order by city)

Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA)

M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore, MD)

MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ)

Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, PA)

2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Qualified Team

Canada (Automatic Qualifier)

Mexico (Automatic Qualifier)

United States (Automatic Qualifier)

Costa Rica (Winner – 2014 Copa Centroamericana UNCAF)

Guatemala (Runner-up – 2014 Copa Centroamericana UNCAF)

Panama (Third Place – 2014 Copa Centroamericana UNCAF)

El Salvador (Fourth Place – 2014 Copa Centroamericana UNCAF)

Jamaica (Winner – 2014 CFU Caribbean Cup)

Trinidad & Tobago (Runner-Up – 2014 CFU Caribbean Cup)

Haiti (Third Place – 2014 CFU Caribbean Cup)

Cuba (Fourth Place – 2014 CFU Caribbean Cup)

French Guyana or Honduras (CFU/UNCAF Play-in Winner)

About CONCACAF

CONCACAF “The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football” is one of six continental confederations of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and serves as the governing body of football in this part of the world. It is composed of 41 national associations, from Canada in the north to Guyana, Surinam and French Guyana in the south. For more information please visit concacaf.com.

About the CONCACAF Gold Cup

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is the national team championship for the confederation’s 41 members. Taking place every two years, the event has attained exceptional levels of popularity, routinely drawing capacity crowds and millions of TV viewers throughout the world. If other than 2013 Gold Cup Champion USA, the champion of the 2015 Gold Cup will earn half a ticket to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, facing the USA in a single-game playoff for the right to represent CONCACAF in that FIFA competition.