Copa America to celebrate 100th anniversary in special U.S-based tournament

The Copa America tournament will be played in the United States for the first time in honor of its 100th anniversary.

The tournament is played every four years, so the 100th anniversary will be a special edition since it falls in between the scheduled 2015 and 2019 tournaments, reports The Guardian.

Though it isn't known if the South American teams will send their best players to play in the States since the tournament would come a year after a regularly scheduled one, CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb tried to offer reassurance. "There is no question that some of the best talent in the world will be on display."

Complicating that claim is FIFA would also need to give their OK on the tournament, otherwise clubs spread across the world would not have to let their players participate for their national teams.

Copa America is also usually only for CONMEBOL South American teams, but the special tournament will feature several CONCACAF teams, including Mexico and the United States, reports Fox Sports. The Copa America tournament will be held June 3-26 and feature 10 CONMEBOL teams and four more yet-to-be determined CONCACAF teams.

Copa America "established a blueprint of what we now call international competition," said Webb, speaking at the press conference on Thursday. "Continuing this legacy, a historic tournament has been agreed between CONMEBOL and CONCACAF to make the competition a true Copa America."

WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on your website.

Learn more about debugging in WordPress.