New Tiebreaker Rules and the Possibility to Amend 23-Player Roster after Group Play Introduced

MIAMI (Thursday, April 4, 2013) – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today changes to the regulations governing the CONCACAF Gold Cup that will take effect starting with the 2013 edition.

“After a diligent process of reviewing the regulations, the Gold Cup Committee, chaired by Mr. Sunil Gulati, approved key changes aimed at increasing the competition level, as well as the overall tournament performance,” said Enrique Sanz, General Secretary of CONCACAF.  “With the help of our different committees we are constantly evaluating the ways in which we can improve all of our competitions.”

The changes to the Gold Cup regulations, which were reviewed and approved by the Gold Cup Committee, as well as CONCACAF’s Executive Committee, are underlined in the following excerpts.

XII.  ELIGIBILITY OF PLAYERS

5. Provisional List of Players

Participating National Associations must provide their “List of Players” on the official form provided, to the office of the CONCACAF General Secretariat, at least forty-five (45) days prior to the kick-off of the opening match.  This list is binding and shall contain the names of at least thirty-five (35) players.

6. Team Delegations and Final Roster

Each participating Association shall submit to the CONCACAF General Secretariat its Final Delegation list of up to thirty-two (32) persons, which must include up to twenty-three (23) players (three of whom shall be goalkeepers), not later than ten (10) days prior to the first match of the Final Phase.  The released list shall be published by the CONCACAF General Secretariat and will be made public.

7. Teams qualifying for the Quarterfinal Phase will be permitted to amend the twenty-three (23) player roster to replace up to four (4) players from the provisional list (as stated in clause 5 above) at latest twenty-four (24) hours following the completion of the First Round of the Final Phase.  Only these players, set out in Clauses 6 and 7, will (except in the case of force majeure recognized by the Organizing Committee for the CONCACAF Gold Cup and as set out in Clause 8 below) be permitted to compete in the Final Phase. The final list shall be published by the CONCACAF General Secretariat.

XX.  TECHNICAL RULES

A. Final Phase

3. The top two teams from each of the three groups and two wildcards (the two third-place teams with the most points) shall qualify for the Quarterfinals.

4. The ranking of each team in each group will be determined as follows:

a. Greatest number of points obtained in group matches

b. Goal difference in all group matches

c. Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches

d. Greatest number of points obtained in group matches between the teams concerned;

e. Drawing of lots by the Gold Cup Organizing Committee.

5. Ranking for the wild cards (third place teams) will be determined as follows:

a. Greatest number of points obtained in group matches;

b. Goal difference in all group matches;

c. Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches;

d. Drawing of lots by the Gold Cup Organizing Committee.

B.    Between Preliminary and Final Phases

1.   Unless the Organizing Committee gives special permission to do so, the national teams participating in the Final Phase shall have no right to play friendly matches in the venues of the Final Phase in the period commencing sixty (60) days before the start and ending one month after the conclusion of the Final Phase.

2.   Once the groupings for the final phase have been announced, teams in the same group may not play a friendly match in any of the venues of the Final Phase.

To access the complete CONCACAF Gold Cup Regulations, please visit www.CONCACAF.com

Taking place every two years, the Gold Cup has become the region’s most popular soccer event, routinely drawing capacity crowds and millions of TV viewers across North, Central America and the Caribbean.

Group matches will take place July 7-16 in nine cities across the U.S., with Quarterfinal matches following on July 20 in Atlanta and July 21 in Baltimore. Semifinal matches will be played July 24 in Arlington, Texas, and the championship is set for Soldier Field in Chicago on July 28.

All games will be broadcast live on TV in the United States. FOX Sports Media Group, for the first time ever, is televising all 25 matches of the event, with three slated to be shown on FOX Sports, including the final on Sunday, July 28 (4:00 PM ET) from historic Soldier Field in Chicago. Long-time broadcast partner Univison will again televise all games on its Spanish-language network platforms.

In addition, Futbol de Primera will broadcast the matches on Spanish-language radio through its more than 100 affiliates in the United States.

ABOUT CONCACAF

CONCACAF “The Confederation of North, Central America 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.