The U.S. is set to host its first major soccer tournament for 22 years after CONMEBOL announced that a special Copa America would be in the country in 2016.
South America’s main soccer governing body (CONMEBOL) revealed that the tournament will be held on U.S. soil to commemorate the competition’s 100th year in existence.
In a statement released after a meeting in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, the executive committee announced that the tournament would be called the Centennial Cup, with 16 teams taking part.
The competition will be sandwiched in between the regular scheduled 2015 Copa America in Chile and the 2019 tournament in Brazil.
There are usually just 12 teams which compete in the Copa America, but CONMEBOL have taken the decision to include all 10 teams in South America, the U.S. and Mexico as well as four teams who rank highest in North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) for this special one-off event.
The last time the U.S. held a major men’s soccer tournament was in 1994 for the FIFA World Cup.
