Topics: Copa América, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF W Gold Cup, FIFA World Cup
The two football governing bodies in North and South America announced a new project that will include more tournaments for the next four years.

What started out as a rumor has been confirmed earlier today, as CONCACAF and CONMEBOL have announced a partnership that will strengthen their relationship for years to come and with the 2026 FIFA World Cup in sight.

Both football authorities revealed that the agreement will include new competitions, as well as enhancing some of those that already exist, such as the Copa América and the CONCACAF W Gold Cup.

Speaking about the Copa América, the upcoming tournament in 2024 will be held in the United States, following a similar format as the 2016 Copa América Centenario. The competition will include all of CONMEBOL's teams and six invited teams from CONCACAF, which will qualify to the competition via the CONCACAF Nations League. 

As for the CONCACAF W Gold Cup, the tournament will be held with eight teams from CONCACAF and four invited nations from CONMEBOL. The eight teams from the North American region will earn their spot via the W Gold Cup Qualifiers, which follows a similar format as the CONCACAF Nations League. The South American nations playing in the tournament will be Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Paraguay.

The added bonus for clubs in both regions comes as CONCACAF and CONMEBOL also announced the creation of a new club competition featuring teams from both associations. Details of the tournament are yet to be confirmed, but it would be accurate to say that the winners of the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana would be included in the tournament, while the finalists of the CONCACAF Champions League may also earn a spot in this new competition.

Speaking of the agreement, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez urged both associations to embrace this opportunity to collaborate together.

"CONMEBOL and CONCACAF are linked through historic and affectionate bonds. But most of all, we are brought together by the passion for football and for sports throughout America. We are looking forward to renovate and to amplify our iniciatives and projects together. We want that passion to be translated into bigger and better tournaments so that football and its values grow and strengthen themselves across this hemisphere. Without a doubt, both confederations believe this is the way to go and we will work to see it happening," the South American exec stated.

Moments later, CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani shared his views in a short video posted on social media.

Dates for all three competitions will be revealed during the course of the year, but all of them are expected to be held between June and July of 2024.