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| The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) was founded in 1961 and serves as the organizing body for 40 national associations, including the United States, and spans from Canada in the north to Suriname in the south. CONCACAF organizes international competition in a number of events, including the Champions' Cup, qualifying tournaments for all FIFA competitions and the Gold Cup. |
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| As an indication of CONCACAF's growing stature in the world of soccer, the confederation's strong showing in recent World Cup competition led to an increase to 3.5 berths in the 2006 World Cup, up from three in 2002. The half spot will play off against the fifth place finisher from Asia for a berth in the world's biggest sporting event. In 2002, the U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals, while Mexico won their group in earning a second round berth and Costa Rica was eliminated on goal-differential in their difficult group with Brazil and Turkey. |
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| CONCACAF increased its presence on the world football stage at the beginning of the new millennium. In 2000, Guatemala hosted the FIFA World Futsal Championships and in doing so became the first Central American country to host a FIFA World Championship. And in 2001, Trinidad & Tobago hosted the spectacular Under-17 World Championship, becoming the first Caribbean country to host a World Championship. A year later, the first-ever FIFA Women's Under-19 World Championship was staged in Canada in 2002 and won by the United States. |
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| As the Confederation's premier event, the Gold Cup is traditionally played every two years by the national teams within CONCACAF, and will rotate to an odd-year, summer schedule in 2003. Mexico, three-time winner of the Gold Cup, defeated the U.S. in the 1993 and '98 finals and downed Brazil in '96. The U.S. has won two Gold Cups, the inaugural 1991 event and the 2002 tournament. The 2000 Gold Cup was perhaps the most surprising, with Canada taking home their first major international title as the U.S. and Mexico failed to qualify for the semifinals. |
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| The Women's Gold Cup has also been very successful, with the U.S. winning the first two events in 2000 and 2002. In 2002, it took a golden goal from Mia Hamm for the U.S. to dispatch Canada in the final, 2-1, and in 2000 the U.S. downed guest-team Brazil 1-0 to claim the championship. |
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| CONCACAF competed in the FIFA World Club Championship for the first time in 2000, when Mexico's Necaxa impressed with a third place finish in the 2000 tournament in Brazil. In early 2001, the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS claimed the 2000 CONCACAF Champions Cup title, but were unable to represent the region at the 2001 FIFA World Cup Championship that summer when the tournament was canceled by FIFA. The Confederation tournament, which is competed amongst the 38 nations' domestic league champions, was won in 1998 by D.C. United. Late in 2001, CONCACAF unveiled a new Champions League format to decide the region's annual champion that will kick off in 2003. |
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| In 1994, CONCACAF joined Europe and South America as the only confederations to host three or more World Cup finals. Mexico welcomed the world twice, in 1970 and 1986, while the United States staged the event for the first time in 1994. |
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| CONCACAF's headquarters are located in New York City, where Jack Warner of Trinidad & Tobago serves as President. Chuck Blazer of the United States is the confederation's General Secretary. |
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President: Jack Warner
General Secretary: Chuck Blazer
Media Officer: Steve Torres |
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CONCACAF
725 Fifth Avenue, 17th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10022
USA |
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Phone: 21 2 / 308-0044
Fax: 21 2 / 308-1851 |
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Phone: 212/308-0044
Fax: 212/308-1851 |
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CONCACAF
Edward & Oxford St.
Port of Spain, Trinidad |
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Phone: 868 / 625-9611
Fax: 868 / 625-9609 |
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Headquarters
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