A Modest Gold Cup Proposal
Posted on February 21, 2013 13:16
Get ready for Gold Cup 2013!
The excitement around the region is palpable, isn’t it?
An event that should take place every four years is a biennial tournament in our little corner of the world, and it looks like it is going to stay that way for a while. In a few years, it will be the only Regional championship staged as such; even the always entertaining African Cup of nations is switching to the quadrennial model in 2017.
So if CONCACAF is going to stick to the every two year format, may I present a couple of tweaks that might make the the second event in a World Cup cycle a little more exciting and competitive.
#1 – Make it a U tournament. It can be a U23, U21… whatever. but since this in an official tournament in the middle of World Cup qualifying, and more and more of the region’s players are playing abroad, the relationship between club and confederation has to be strained with this extra official tournament. A U tournament would give players international exposure that they otherwise would not get. Especially, if the next proposal is adopted.
#2. – Play the three first round games at home, on the road, and a neutral site. I know that staging the event in the US makes the most sense economically for this tournament, but it’s time CONCACAF put competition ahead of profit motive. While I agree that it may not be feasible to stage the whole tournament elsewhere in the region, but there is no reason why the other countries member’s cannot stage at least some games. We all know how hard it is to win away games, so the young players would gain crucial experience playing in hostile territory.
#3 – Play the neutral game and the knockouts in a chosen host country. Playing a whole tournament might be too much to ask for some countries, but half a tournament is not. Three stadiums is all a country would need to stage this portion of the event. This way, the tournament can be fairly rotated around the region.
That’s it. Those three changes would make the 2nd Gold Cup a lot more interesting, competitive, and exciting for both the teams and the fans.
I’m a little unclear on #2.
The Gold Cup is held in odd-numbered years.
Did you mean “in the middle of World Cup qualifying”?
Yes. I guess my fat fingers had deleted the word. Thanks. Fixed
Africa Cup of Nations isn’t changing it’s regularity to every for years in 2017. This week, Nigeria, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo have all confirmed that they want to host the 2019 edition.
The Africa Cup of Nations isn’t changing its regularity to every four years from 2017 onwards. This week, Nigeria, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo have all confirmed that they want to host the 2019 edition.
it would be beneficial for all nations to stage the Gold Cup during qualifiers year as a Sub-20/23 tournament, but it would be difficult because of youth World Cups that take place around the same time frame in the summer.
personally, i think they should just make the Gold Cup every 4 years.
Isn’t the biggest reason the GC is held every 2 years, and in the US, because it finances everything in CONCACAF? If it became a U-tournament or every 4 years, would C’CAF be able to keep the coffers full?
…which is why we should all hope that the joint Copa America goes forward.
Mind you, even President Webb confirmed that switching to a quadrennial Gold Cup is on the table.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/02/20/concacaf-still-keen-joint-16-team-copa-america-2016
USA are seemingly hosting the 2015 Copa CentroAmericana too. See http://www.monumental.co.cr/deportes/la-proxima-copa-centroamericana-sera-en-estados-unidos
It’s supposedly to celebrate 25 years of UNCAF – you Americans love your landmarks.
Although it’s more likely to be a reaction to the low attendances earlier this year.
Just a few points if I may.
CONCACAF will be saturated with global tournaments over the next few years. After the 2015 Gold Cup we will be treated to a special tournament in 2016 involving CANCACAF clubs at a special edition of the Copa America tournament.
That said….
point 1. With respect, never ‘downgrade a tournament to U level. I would agree to this if the CANCACAF region joins with the Copa America tournament. I can tell you with confidence this wont happen. Even the invites have dried up in recent years (both ways).
Point 2. Hmmmm (agree a little) Mexico and Canada would be the viable option staging games outside the USA. Don’t have a problem with some group games in those countries.
Point 3. Seems like the same points were made in point 2.
Unfortunately money dictates where these tournaments are held. The USA do get good crowds, although for example USA v Mexico aint getting played in Michigan, follow me…so the drawing of these tournaments in relation to where the matches are going to be played is fixed.
Mexico v USA in Mexico City will of course be huge….Not sure things need changing at this juncture, it is ticking along nicely, better than it was….
The 12 team format with 3rd place teams advancing always kind of bothered me. I’d rather see an even field of 16 teams or if that’s too saturated 8 teams… make the group games count for something. An 8 team Gold Cup with a Confed Cup birth on the line would be fierce – it would be like watching the Hex.
I would have no objections to seeing the tournament passed around to other countries, but there is no country could ever match the attendance the tournament gets in the US. I would rather see the games in the US every time with good crowds, then see AFCON-like attendance in Costa Rica or somewhere else. Maybe if each group seed hosts their group games and everything is scheduled as doubleheaders, that would work.
And definitely make it every 4 years.
Some good thoughts, I still don’t get why Canada has auto qualification to the Cup when they are not on par with Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica, or Honduras. The Caribbean Cup should be changed to FIFA dates so that Jamaica can field a proper team. Maybe the top ranked teams from each region gets auto qualified while the others have to win a tournament or a head to head series. That would have meant that the US and Canada would have played a head to head series to get to the cup.
One proposal that I’m fond of is to make Canada earn its slot through the Copa Centroamerica. It’s a seven team tournament, so there’s a slot available, it’s played in the MLS offseason, and Canada needs to play more competitive games, especially in Central American conditions. Currently, five teams out of seven qualify, so changing the format to six out of eight wouldn’t upset the applecart. Seems like it would be a winner to me.
One idea they should consider is having the best placed Caribbean and Central American team in each Gold Cup automatically qualifying for the next one. It would give teams in each Gold Cup (off-year and on) something to play for.
Your heart is in the right place, but the very “raison d’être” for playing this every other year is money…so any expectation that CONCACAF put competition ahead of profit is intellectually dishonest.
2015 Gold Cup
just invite the 15 most populous
1 United States 315,791,000
2 Mexico 116,147,000
3 Canada 34,675,000
4 Guatemala 15,138,000
5 Cuba 11,249,000
6 Haiti 10,256,000
7 Dominican Republic 10,183,000
8 Honduras 7,912,000
9 El Salvador 6,264,000
10 Nicaragua 5,955,000
11 Costa Rica 4,794,000
12 Puerto Rico (US)[4] 3,743,000
13 Panama 3,625,000
14 Jamaica 2,761,000
15 Trinidad and Tobago 1,351,000
and make a qualification for the 16th spot, that gonna make 99,49% north americans happy, 544,984,400 exactly, liberating time because minus qualification matches, and more people buying Gold cup tickets, also you can play “Mexico Group” in Mexico and “Canada Group” in Canada.
CAF and AFC do it, why not hold the secondary Gold Cup in January concluding in the first week of February so it isn’t conflicting with World Cup qualifying? There are enough Southern and domed venues in the U.S. for a January tournament to be viable, or Mexico could host.
the problem is that the Gold Cup without the Confed cup tie-in isn’t taken seriously and thus it cheapens the whole brand of the gold cup.
it should be every four years.
Aww, when I saw “A Modest Proposal” I thought you were going to make some kind of witty metaphor involving eating babies.
Look it up…
at some point I just want to shake people by the collars and yell, “Can’t you just enjoy the freakin’ games for once?!?!?!?!” Does everything about this sport need to be analyzed and re-analyzed and over-analyzed. Does everyone need their “modest” ideas to “improve” every league and tournament? Why do you people keep wanting to make my brain hurt?
maybe that’s just part of the enjoyment.
ever think of that?
eeh?
eeeeh?
Thanks for all the comments. I think we are all in agreement that if anything were to change, the best option would be to stage the Gold Cup every 4 years. But we all know that is not going to happen any time soon.
But if any changes were to be made, the one that I would like to see most is to stage all or some of the tournament in other parts of the region.
jesus christ, I wish I was in CONCACAF’s advertising agency or something cos man I would do so much work on the thing it’d end up being brand spanking new.
hey
if anyone from concacaf is reading.
and I’m … serious… I think.
well, like, serious enough to actually want this…
but not enough to be formal about it I suppose…
…if anyone from concacaf’s reading
contact me.
I got a shitload of ideas and I dont want to be inbursed.
not initially at least but
man i’m a consumer and i just want a better product for all of us, yknow? just one or another idea.
On first reading, I think I missed the big point you are making as it isn’t part of any of the 3 changes listed.
If I’m following correctly you are suggesting that CONCACAF only make these changes for the “off year” Gold Cup when teams are dealing with WC qualification, so that there would be a main Gold Cup every 4 years with the situation as it is currently, and a minor Gold Cup every 4 years with the modified set up.
This is a great idea!
As long as the Gold Cup organizers and CONCACAF head honchos make money they will continue to do things they way they always have.
“competition ahead of profit”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
sorry.. let me catch my breath….
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
If only one Gold Cup winner out of two may go to the Confederations Cup, I propose that we make the other Gold Cup meaningful by giving its winner two years’ complete access to CONCACAF’S financial records and filing fees for up to three separate civil cases in a court of its choosing.
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