CONCACAF Executive Committee alters youth championships qualifying format

November 24, 2009

Mexico and the United States will play off against the seven Central American nations for five places in the CONCACAF men’s youth championships beginning with the 2011 tournament, a change approved Monday by the confederation’s Executive Committee.

The three North American entrants previously had qualified automatically for both the under-17 and under-20 championships, but now will be grouped with their UNCAF counterparts with a procedure yet to be determined. The Caribbean will continue to qualify three teams for the eight-team biennial tournament.

The qualifying will be slightly different for the CONCACAF U-17 Championship in 2011. Since Mexico is hosting the U-17 World Cup that year, it will qualify automatically for the FIFA finals.

The board also voiced unanimous support for the United States’ bid to host the World Cup in either 2018 or 2022. Executive Committee member and U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati outlined the major aspects of the bid in a video and slide-show presentation to the panel.

CONCACAF President Jack Warner congratulated the United States on its bid.

“The United States can count on the full support of CONCACAF, including Chuck Blazer, Rafael Salgueiro and myself,” Warner said. The 24-member FIFA Executive Committee will decide the venues for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup in December 2010.

Based on the General Secretary’s report on CONMEBOL, the board confirmed the decision to end CONCACAF’s participation in the Copa Sudamericana, authorized him to negotiate a continued presence in the Copa Libertadores and deferred a decision on the Copa America until its next meeting.

With the Group Stage of the CONCACAF Champions League now complete and results analyzed, the Executive Committee approved a reallocation of berths, giving Panama one automatic place in next season’s Group Stage while making both of El Salvador’s qualifiers go through the Preliminary Round.

Neither Firpo this season nor Metapan in 2008 managed to advance past the Preliminary Round, and of the two teams that did earn a direct berth, Metapan won only one of five games this season while Firpo went 2-2-2 in 2008.

Panama, however, has had three of its four advance past the Preliminary Round into the Group Stage and this season has one, Arabe Unido, reach the quarterfinals. It will play Cruz Azul in the final eight in March.

The Executive Committee also applauded the unsuccessful attempt by Costa Rica to qualify for the World Cup in a two-leg playoff against Uruguay and voiced its support for federation President Eduardo Li. It praised Li’s leadership, noting the success of its youth program including the U-20 team’s fourth-place finish at the World Cup in Egypt.

NEW YORK – Canada

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