The qualification phase will kick off in 2019 with regional qualifiers in Central America and the Caribbean

Miami (Tuesday, April 16, 2019) – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) today announced details for the preliminary rounds of the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. Regional qualifiers will begin this summer, with matches in Central America and the Caribbean. 

The qualification process for the  Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship will kick off with an initial round in the Caribbean. For this opening phase, set to take place July 17-21, 2019, in four venues that will be announced in the coming days, the 16 participating teams will be divided into four groups. After round robin play, the group winners will advance to a final play-in match (1A v 1D and 1B v 1C). The winner in each play-in match will qualify for the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. 

The 16 participating teams in the Caribbean are (in alphabetical order): Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and U.S. Virgin Islands.

The draw for the Caribbean preliminary round is scheduled for April 17, 2019 at 11:00 am ET. Fans will be able to follow all the action via Concacaf.com

In Central America, qualifying will be disputed in three individual home-and-away series, with the three series winners advancing to the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. The matchups – 1 v 6, 2 v 5 and 3 v 4 – will be determined via the FIFA World Ranking of March 31st, 2019. The matches will take place the first 3 weeks of July.

The six participating teams in Central America are (in order by ranking): Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua and Guatemala. 

The format, host country and dates for the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifiers will be announced at a later date. Mexico, Canada and the United States are set to participate as the North American representatives.