Toronto's BMO Field has been named one of 15 host stadiums for this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup, with the other 14 all south of the border.
It marks just the second time that CONCACAF’s flagship men's tournament has come to Canada, following 2015 when BMO Field hosted a group-stage doubleheader that saw Canada tie Costa Rica 0-0 and Jamaica edge El Salvador 1-0 before an announced crowd of 16,674.
It's expected 47th-ranked Canada will play again at BMO Field where the Canadian men have not lost since September 2010 when they were beaten 2-0 by Peru. Canada has gone 15-0-6 at the lakefront stadium since, outscoring the opposition 54-6.
The 17th edition of the Gold Cup is scheduled for June 24 through July 16, with 15 stadiums in 14 cities. It will be preceded by a 12-team qualifying competition June 16-20.
The Gold Cup final will be held July 16 at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium with details on other venues to be announced after the Friday's draw at the home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Chargers.
The Canadian men will take part in the CONCACAF Nations League final four June 15-18 in Las Vegas ahead of the Gold Cup.
The Nations League winner will earn US$1 million in prize money while the Gold Cup title comes with some US$1.9 million.
The other Gold Cup host stadiums are AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas; Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.; Soldier Field, Chicago; TQL Stadium, Cincinnati; DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.; Red Bull Arena, Harrison, N.J.; NRG Stadium, Houston; Shell Energy Stadium, Houston; Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas; Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego; Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.; and CITYPARK Stadium, St. Louis.
“The host cities and venues we have selected all have strong track records of hosting elite football, and world-class events," CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, a Vancouver native, said in a statement.
The three-tiered CONCACAF Nations League served as a Gold Cup qualifier, with the top two teams in each of the four League A groups booking their ticket to the 16-country tournament.
Canada qualified as Group C winner, along with No. 80 Honduras, joining the 13th-ranked U.S., No. 15 Mexico, No. 39 Costa Rica, No. 58 Panama and No. 63 Jamaica.
No. 87 Haiti, No. 116 Guatemala, No. 140 Nicaragua and No. 165 Cuba qualified by winning their pools in League B.
World Cup host Qatar, ranked 61st in the world, is an invitational team.
Twelve other CONCACAF sides — Curaçao, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sint Maarten, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago — will take part in the June 16-20 qualifying tournament that will fill the remaining three berths in the Gold Cup field.
Mexican has won the Gold Cup eight times, compared to seven for the defending champion U.S.
Canada won in 2000, defeating Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago in the knockout rounds before dispatching Colombia 2-0 in the final in Los Angeles' Memorial Coliseum.
The Canadian men finished tied for third with Qatar at the 2021 tournament after losing 2-1 to Mexico in the semifinal in Houston on a 99th-minute Hector Herrera goal.
CONCACAF covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2023
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
