As we all know, the Gold Cup, since its launch in 1991, has been held in USA every year (with 2 co-host situations with Mexico). There's a little shake-up going on right now and maybe things might change, so I ask... How long will it be until we see a Gold Cup held entirely outside of USA?
I'm glad to see that there is noise in the CONCACAF office at the moment.I'm hoping that the greasy cockroach called Jack Warner will leave his post as head of the CONCACAF region.At the moment,it's only a suspension,but it could be a lifetime ban if found guilty and let's hope he's found guilty.It this happens it's already a step in the right direction as the new leader of the region won't be as corrupted as he was(difficult to top what Warner has done),it will be a step up regardless. Regarding this poll question,I say that it will take about 5 to 10 years for a Gold Cup hosted exclusively outside the US.There will be some major restructuring process in the CONCACAF office so it probably won't be before that.CONCACAF's reputation took some damage in the last few weeks...
When a Gold Cup held outside of the USA can be as profitable as one held in the USA, then we'll see one outside of the USA. No sooner. One may decry this position as founded in greed. While that may be true, even a perfectly virtuous CONCACAF would want to make as much money as possible from its championship tournament. CONCACAF is one of the poorer confederations. The Gold Cup is a big fundraiser. They wouldn't want to waste its potential by moving it to an area where it would make less or, heaven forbid, actually lose money. ------RM
My question is, what on earth happens to all that money that the gold cup supposedly generates? Because the majority of the participating federations end up losing money in the gold cup. So where does all that money go? Jack Warner's pockets?
The United States is uniquely positioned to hold the event in a manner that will always maximize the revenues for CONCACAF as well as providing the best infastructure for the tournament. Really only Mexico as a sole nation could host this event with similar returns to CONCACAF. The issue is that the remaining counties really don't boast a great infrastructure to hold the event at multiple venues due to a lack of top class faciliies. I would love to see a joint hosted central american Gold Cup, but that is a lot of logistical planning that needs to be done and ultimately a lot of $$$ these nations have to invest in their football infastructure....CONCACAF after years of raping the USA and Mexico for funds should help foot that bill and actuall do something to develop the region instead of paying lip service to it while they pocket all the loose change. Canada would be another logical choice to host once in a while.
Even Mexico would have a huge drop off in revenue. In 2003, the last time Mexico hosted part of the gold cup the attendance was pathetic. On top of dirt cheap ticket prices, there would be literally nobody watching the other games in the tournament. The non-mexican teams still draw in the 15 to 30 thousand range in the United States at premium prices. It really adds up over the course of the tournament.
It's true that nobody has the ability to make as much money hosting as the U.S., but that didn't stop Qatar. Somewhere down the road, there could be an off-year Gold Cup in Canada or Mexico... maybe two of the Central American nations could co-host or Jamaica could co-host with another Caribbean nations (The West Indies did host a Cricket World Cup a few years back). None of these would be as profitable as hosting it in the U.S., but it would be a change... if Lebanon can host the Asian Cup, I don't see why not.
This is the main reason I ask this. If it makes so much money, no team should be losing any money when they participate.
True but that was back in 2003. The tournament has come a long way since then, i would wager the attendance and $$ would be considerably better next time around in Mexico. Also they are the only other nation in CONCACAF that has world class facilities and stadia to host the matches; and enough geographical diversity to have muultiple venues. I think we all can agree having it in the US is easily the most profitable to CONCACAF, but that perhaps competitive fairness dictates that those greedy bastards let other nations host once in a while, and in turn use that money they have horded to actually help the countries invest in better faciltiies and infastructure which will only benefit the entire region over time.
This topic has been discussed ad nauseam. There is no interest shown by Federations to host this tournament. None! Zero! Zilch! Nada! The USA is the only federation that wants to host this darn thing. There were rumors a few years ago of Canada MAYBE being interested in hosting a group at BMO in Toronto but even that went down the toilet. The CONCACAF cannot force countries to show interest in hosting a tournament. That would be stupid and illogical. Hence the USA should host this until someone else gets their act together and steps up to the plate & shows sincere interest.
I hope that Canada gets the chance to host the event at some point. With BC Place's refurbishment only a few months away, the upgrades being put into Saputo Stadium for next year (and the big O next door if they need it) plus the likes of BMO Field, the Rogers Centre and Commonwealth Stadium floating around, the CSA would have options in terms of where to host the matches. If the CMNT puts in a half-decent performance this year, hopefully the coverage the team is being given may help spark more interest in seeing the Gold Cup brought up here. I'll try not to hold my breath, though.
I don't know. The "great infrastructure" and "top class facilities" have not been in evident so far in this tournament. The field last night in Detroit was an embarrasment. The field in Dallas was an embarrasment. Am I the only one who sees these things? By the end of the tournament we'll be in Pasadena, and everyone will have forgotten what a joke the start of the tournament was. I don't know who picks the venues for this tournament. It's not the USSF. It's CONCACAF I uess. And they'll put the game in Dallas, sell 80k tickets....................and then not care one iota that field is an artificial surface that looks like it hasn't been looked after in months. They'll put the Canada-US game in Detroit, hoping to sell lots of tickets to Canucks........and then truck in awful sod that gets ripped up to shreds. They were putting sand down at halftime to fill enormous holes in the surface. Embarrasing................. I'd rather they placed the games in smaller venues actually designed for soccer. For instance they could have played at Pizza Hut Park (FCD's home stadium) where the field is in great shape, as opposed to Cowboys stadium. They couldn't sell anywhere near as many tickets or make as much money........but the quality of the game would have been much better.
I don't know why they didn't do any in philadelphia, at the Linc that had matches last time or at PPL park.
The answer to the original q. posed in this thread is simple: economics. If we're being "idealistic" about this, sure: the GC should be spread throughout the conference to different countries, preferrably through some sort of rotation. The "realpolitik" of the matter is that CONCACAF--and I am sure I am bringing up something here that has already been discussed--wants to make as much cash as possible. A Panama-Guadalupe matchup pretty much anywhere else but in Panama/Guadalupe/US would attract little or no fans. Here in the 'States it attracts some and at the very least if the game is being played as part of a double-header, at least some cash can be made in it. Furthermore, there is the infraestructure factor. How many countries can really host a 12-team tournament? I mean, besides the US and Mexico.
Months ago when the gold cup groups were announced Chuck Blazer said they wanted to host games in Canada this time around but the visa complications for teams crossing the border during the tournament created too many logistical challenges.
They should do a regional rotation in this order: 1. USA - for obvious reasons 2. Mexico - hosted 2 World Cups, needs to improve security/safety 3. Canada - Slowly building the infrastructure 4. Caribbean - If they can host a Cricket World Cup, they can host the Gold Cup 5. Central America - May take time to develop the infrastructure. There has to be 3-5 adequate stadiums in the region Come on CONCACAF, spread the love!
Right. Totally the same thing. Why, they can just paint football lines on the cricket grounds! Here's an idea. How about they develop the infrastructure first, then we include them in the rotation? Also, how are you going to handle qualification if "the Caribbean" or "Central America" hosts the Gold Cup? Are you going to allow every member of the hosting region into the tournament as hosts? How are you going to handle the visa issues as players fly from nation to nation to nation as they progress through the tournament? Holding a major tournament in a group of small countries is a bad idea. ------RM
By the time the next Gold Cup comes around, Canada will have a few more nice stadiums completed for their MLS teams and, combined with a few other stadiums, I don't see why they couldn't host it if they wanted to.
They do just paint soccer/football lines on cricket grounds. There are examples from other parts of the world where stadiums are used for both cricket and soccer. Melbourne Cricket Ground - Australia http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/102/273151282_39e982a8b4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/deanmelbourne/273151282/&usg=__tS4Al5FPOZGCQ0_FwXbqLtWhi-Y=&h=375&w=500&sz=142&hl=en&start=1&zoom=1&tbnid=QHCw_yVsuBRs9M:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&ei=nkDxTaXjLdSftgfS2vyxAw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmelbourne%2Bcricket%2Bground%2Bsoccer%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-ca:IE-Address%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D664%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1 Westpac Stadium – New Zealand http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=...&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:15&biw=1280&bih=664 In fact many of the stadiums used for the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies can also host soccer. Contrary to what CONCACAF has you believe, you don't actually need 10 stadiums to host a Gold Cup. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kensington_Oval “The Kensington Oval has also hosted many non-cricket events such as matches of the Barbados national football team, hockey, inter-school athletics, Miss Barbados pageants, and concert events.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providence_Stadium “It has also hosted other sports other than cricket including football, and also hosted the rugby sevens competition at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnos_Vale_Stadium “Arnos Vale Ground (a.k.a. The Playing Fields) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is currently used mostly for cricket and football matches. The stadium holds 18,000.” Large Caribbean soccer stadiums: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasely_Crawford_Stadium http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Park_(Jamaica) As for qualification, the Gold Cup currently has 12 teams, expand to 16 to allow for more host region teams to participate while still using the Caribbean Cub as a pre-qualifying tournament. Or keep it at 12 teams. If teams don't make it past this stage then they don't participate in the main tournament. Hosting a group would be a boon to the small host nations regardless of whether they are participating or not, of course, it would be ideal if they can qualify. Host a Gold Cup group, play in the Gold Cup in your own home, do both, or do/have nothing. The former three possibilities sound infinitely better and enticing than the last option. I'm sure the nations, particularly in the Caribbean understand how small they are and understand the benefits of hosting the tournament with or without qualifying. With the pre-qualifying Caribbean Cup tournament and format, which already exists, they can't say they weren't given a fair chance to qualify. With regard to visa issues, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) allowed people to travel within all host nations on a single visa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_community#Visa_and_the_Single_Domestic_Space_in_2006 "Visa and the Single Domestic Space in 2006 During the July 2006 CARICOM Summit, the various leaders reached an agreement on measures to ensure hassle-free movement for visitors to the 2007 Cricket World Cup, as well intelligence sharing and cooperation for the security of the event.People were originally to be able to travel amongst the nine host countries and Dominica between 15 January 2007 and 15 May 2007 using a single CARICOM visa." Here’s an example of 4 stadiums in Central America that would be large enough to host the Gold Cup. All those countries participate in the Gold Cup pretty much every time so no issues with qualifying there. What I meant by develop the infrastructure was that they could use improvements to bring them up to a higher standard for international competition (these stadiums each already host their respective national teams). Estadio Cuscatlán 45,000 – El Salvador http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_Cuscatl%C3%A1n Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano 40,000 – Honduras http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio..._Metropolitano Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica (2011) 34,200 – Costa Rica http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio...sta_Rica_(2011) Estadio Mateo Flores 26,000 – Guatemala http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estadio_Mateo_Flores Central America is also working towards greater political integration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central...gration_System which may result in greater freedom of movement across the region. Having a single travel visa for member/host countries isn't far fetched, especially if you consider that the Gold Cup won't be hosted in either the Caribbean or C. America in the next 10 years. Any questions? Didn't think so...
After 2022, there should be a couple Qatar stadiums popping up in the region....complete with air conditioning!!!
They should do what the baseball classic does, have the group stage hosted by different countries and the knockout stage in the US. Group 1: Caribbean. Puerto Rico + ....Cuba? Group 2: Canada Group 3: Mexico All other games in USA
Peter Montopoli of the Canadian Soccer Association was on the radio last night and had this to say about Canada hosting Gold Cup matches. "It's not for lack of trying. We've asked many, many times. There is an emphasis to keep it in America in that they feel certain stadiums are better suited for the type of crowds. But on the same token we've made significant inroads as an organization with CONCACAF and I'd like to think that down the road we'll be hosting some matches in Canada."
Well the reason I want the tournament to be held outside the US is because it would make it harder to win it, Another reason is that I'm getting tired of the US always hosting the GC I know it sounds crazy because I'm a die heart Stars and Stripes fan. Another problem I have is the every two year span of this tournament, why don't they make it every 4 years like the Euros or the Copa America? Every two years is just dumb imo, Plus if it was held every 4 years it would give the country with the hosting privilagies time to get there stadiums together. I'm just saying, I know this will get ignored but I have to say it.
The two-year span is to give the mid and lower-level CONCACAF teams more playing time, I guess. Some of them only play two games in World Cup qualifying; others will only play six games. Every European team plays at least eight games in World Cup qualifying (most play 10) and 8-10 more in Euro qualifying... and every CONMEBOL team plays 18 (16 this cycle). Africa plays their tournament every other year, too, so at least CONCACAF isn't alone.