ATLANTA: Fourteen US cities will play host to Copa América next summer, with the semifinals at East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Charlotte, North Carolina, ahead of the July 14 championship in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The host Americans will be in Group C and open at Arlington, Texas, on June 23, then play Atlanta four days later and Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on July 1.
The governing bodies of South America and of North and Central America and the Caribbean made the announcement on Monday, filling in the cities that will be part of the 16-team tournament.
The quarterfinals will be held July 4 at NRG Stadium in Houston; July 5 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; and July 6 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The semifinals will be in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on July 9 and Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium the next day. The third-place game will be in Charlotte on July 13, the eve of the final.
The draw is set for Thursday in Miami. This will be only the second time Copa América has been held outside of South America since the inaugural tournament in 1916.
“These venues are world-class and have passionate fans who are renowned for getting behind major events,” Concacaf president Victor Montagliani said in a statement.
CONMEBOL and Concacaf announced last month that the June 20 opening game will be at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. South Florida’s Hard Rock Stadium landed the final.
Reigning Copa América and World Cup champion Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, has been placed in Group A and will play in the Atlanta opener, as well as East Rutherford five days later and Miami Gardens on June 29.
The other sites revealed on Monday: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California; Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California; Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida; Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas; and a smaller facility in the Kansas City metro area: Children’s Mercy Park on the Kansas side of the border.
Mexico opens in Houston on June 22, plays four days later at Inglewood and closes the first round on June 30 at Glendale.
Brazil head group D and has games in Inglewood on June 24, Las Vegas four days later and Santa Clara on July 2.
Eleven of the venues are best-known as NFL stadiums, ranging in size from 63,400-seat State Farm Stadium to 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium. The other three – 25,500-seat Exploria Stadium, 20,700-seat Q2 Stadium and 18,500-seat Children’s Mercy Park – are Major League Soccer facilities.
Copa América is expanding in 2024, with six teams from North America joining the usual ten nations from South America that compete for the continental championship. The format mirrors the Copa América Centenario in 2016, the only previous time the tournament was staged outside of South America.
“We will experience an unforgettable Copa América, enjoying the best football in the world in 14 magnificent stadiums,” said Alejandro Dominguez, the president of CONMEBOL.
For the 2024 edition, the CONMEBOL regulars will be joined by six
