2019 CONCACAF Cup
| CONCACAF qualifying play-off for 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup | |||||||
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The 2019 CONCACAF Cup (officially the CONCACAF Cup presented by Scotiabank for sponsorship reasons) will be an international football play-off match to determine CONCACAF's entry into the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup. The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup winner will play against the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup winner on a date to be announced and in a venue yet to be announced.
Background
Even though the CONCACAF Gold Cup is held every two years, prior to 2013, only the winners of the Gold Cup that was held two years before the FIFA Confederations Cup qualified as CONCACAF's representative. For example, Mexico won the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup and qualified for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. This had resulted in CONCACAF teams using weaker rosters in the Gold Cup that was held on the same year as the Confederations Cup, as the result of this tournament having no bearing on qualification for the Confederations Cup and many teams were also involved in qualifying for the FIFA World Cup during that year.[1]
CONCACAF announced the introduction of a play-off match on April 5, 2013.[2] Starting from the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, the CONCACAF representative will be decided by a play-off between the two CONCACAF Gold Cup winners prior to the Confederations Cup. Then CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb said this "will allow the Champion of every single Gold Cup edition to have the same competitive opportunity to represent CONCACAF at the international level."[2] In the case where the same national team wins both Gold Cup tournaments, no play-off is played and the team qualifies directly to the Confederations Cup.[2]
References
- ↑ "2013, 2015 Gold Cup winners will meet for 2017 Confederations Cup spot". Reuters. April 5, 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Gold Cup Winner to Qualify to FIFA Confederations Cup™ Playoff Match". CONCACAF. April 5, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.