NEW YORK (Tuesday, November 20, 2012) – CONCACAF, in conjunction with the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol and the government of the state of Puebla will host the official draw for the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship on Wednesday, November 21 (12:10pm CST/ 1:10pm EST) at Casa Puebla.

The tournament will be held from February 18 to March 3 at two venues in Puebla, Mexico.  The top four teams will qualify for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey.

The draw’s format will see the 12 qualified teams grouped into three separate pots:

POT 1 (Northern Region and Caribbean winner) 
Canada, United States, Jamaica (CFU-1),  Mexico (host)

POT 2 (Central American Region)
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama

POT 3 (Caribbean Region)
Cuba, Curacao, Haiti, Puerto Rico

The participants will be drawn into four groups of three teams each.  Each group will consist of one team from each of the three pots

Due to their historical performances in the competition, as well as stadium capacity and television considerations, host Mexico will automatically be assigned to Group D and play its matches at the Estadio Cuauhtemoc, while the United States will be assigned to Group A and play its games at the Estadio Universitario.

In the competition, each team in a group will face the others once.  The first and second place teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, scheduled for February 26 and 27.  The four teams that progress to the semifinals, to be played on March 1, will have earned qualification to the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The competition will conclude on March 3 with the third-place game and final.

Mexico won the last CONCACAF Under-20 Championship in 2011, defeating Costa Rica 3-1 in the championship match played  at the Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City.

WHO:     
Enrique Sanz, CONCACAF General Secretary
Lic. Rafael Moreno Valle, Governor of the State of Puebla 
Justino Compeán, President of the Mexican Soccer Federation
Fernando Cerrilla, General Secretary of the Mexican Soccer Federation
José Antonio Gali Fayad, Secretary of Infrastructure State of Puebla
Luis Maldonado Venegas, Secretary of Public Education State of Puebla

WHAT:     
Official Draw of the CONCACAF U-20 Championship and unveiling of the tournament’s official logo followed by press conference

WHEN:         
Wednesday, November 21 at 12:40pm CST/ 1:40pm EST
Media check in at Casa Puebla on the day of the event will start at 12:00pm CST

WHERE:     
Casa Puebla, Salón de usos Múltiples
Calzada de los Fuertes # 110, Unidad Civica 5 de Mayo, 
Puebla, Puebla, México.

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 40 national associations, from Canada in the north to Guyana, Surinam and French Guyana in the south.