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  • Mission 2016?


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    Update (July 4 11:32pm ET): According to Justino Compeán - president of the Mexican FA and vice-president of Concacaf - if a 2016 version of the Copa America is held, it will be held in the U.S. and feature 10 South American teams and 6 Concacaf ones. The latter six would qualify based on their performance in the 2015 Gold Cup.

    Remember that talk of a 16-team mega Copa America featuring squads from both South America and Concacaf? Well it never really went away. Concacaf officials have travelled to Brazil as part of the Copa Libertadores festivities and will meet their South American counterparts this week to discuss the idea further.

    There is no guarantee Canada would be at this party - proposed for 2016 - but it may represent the soonest chance for this country's long-suffering soccer supporters to see their national mens' team play in a major tournament.

    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

    The biggest issue surrounding this tournament would probably centre on which Concacaf teams get to enter, as there wouldn't be enough calendar time for a proper qualification process. I've encountered various scenarios bandied around in the Spanish-language press, such as using the 2013 or 2015 Gold Cup as a qualification process, or basing entry on Fifa rankings at some point in time. Since the South Americans would technically be inviting the North Americans to participate, I suppose they could simply decide arbitrarily who comes. Don't tell me stranger things haven't happened.

    Nothing has been settled yet, but there does seem to be willingness from both sides to make the event happen. In January, the president of the Ecuadorian FA Luis Chiriboga said that the tournament could be held in either the United States or Mexico, with six teams from Concacaf and 10 from South America.

    To be clear, what seems to be being discussed here is not an ongoing tournament but a special Copa America held one year after the regularly scheduled 2015 tournament in Chile to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Conmebol.

    What, readers, do you think? Will this happen? Would Canada be in it? Looking four years out, would our mens' squad be able to hold its own?

    Photo is from Flickr user LGEPR.



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