Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. If Argentina advances to the championship game, it would give Messi a chance to play in the same market as his current MLS team, Inter Miami<\/a><\/span>.
FILE – Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi scores the opening goal from the penalty spot during the World Cup final soccer match between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on Dec. 18, 2022. Sotheby\u2019s is to auction off six first half shirts worn by Lionel Messi during Argentina\u2019s winning run at the soccer World Cup in Qatar in 2022, including the one in the final, and thinks they could become the most valuable collection of sports memorabilia ever sold at potentially more than $10 million. (AP Photo\/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi reacts during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 against Uruguay at La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo\/Gustavo Garello)
Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi reacts at the end of a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 against Uruguay at La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo\/Gustavo Garello)
FILE – Mercedes-Benz stadium is seen, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, in Atlanta. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will host the opening game and South Florida\u2019s Hard Rock Stadium gets the final when Copa Am\u00e9rica returns to the United States in 2024. A joint announcement was made Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, by CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, the governing bodies of South American and North American soccer, respectively. Other sites and scheduling for the 16-team tournament will be revealed later.(AP Photo\/Mike Stewart, File)
FILE – A general overall interior view of the Hard Rock Stadium as the New England Patriots take on the Miami Dolphins during an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was awarded the opening game and South Florida\u2019s Hard Rock Stadium will host the final of Copa Am\u00e9rica, the storied South American championship that will be held outside of its home continent for only the second time next summer. A joint announcement was made Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, by CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, the governing bodies of South American and North American soccer, respectively. Other sites and scheduling for the 16-team tournament will be revealed later.(AP Photo\/Doug Murray, File)
FILE – Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi scores the opening goal from the penalty spot during the World Cup final soccer match between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on Dec. 18, 2022. Sotheby\u2019s is to auction off six first half shirts worn by Lionel Messi during Argentina\u2019s winning run at the soccer World Cup in Qatar in 2022, including the one in the final, and thinks they could become the most valuable collection of sports memorabilia ever sold at potentially more than $10 million. (AP Photo\/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
FILE – Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi scores the opening goal from the penalty spot during the World Cup final soccer match between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on Dec. 18, 2022. Sotheby\u2019s is to auction off six first half shirts worn by Lionel Messi during Argentina\u2019s winning run at the soccer World Cup in Qatar in 2022, including the one in the final, and thinks they could become the most valuable collection of sports memorabilia ever sold at potentially more than $10 million. (AP Photo\/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi reacts during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 against Uruguay at La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo\/Gustavo Garello)
Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi reacts during a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 against Uruguay at La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo\/Gustavo Garello)
Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi reacts at the end of a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 against Uruguay at La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo\/Gustavo Garello)
Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi reacts at the end of a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 against Uruguay at La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo\/Gustavo Garello)
FILE – Mercedes-Benz stadium is seen, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, in Atlanta. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will host the opening game and South Florida\u2019s Hard Rock Stadium gets the final when Copa Am\u00e9rica returns to the United States in 2024. A joint announcement was made Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, by CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, the governing bodies of South American and North American soccer, respectively. Other sites and scheduling for the 16-team tournament will be revealed later.(AP Photo\/Mike Stewart, File)
FILE – Mercedes-Benz stadium is seen, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, in Atlanta. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will host the opening game and South Florida\u2019s Hard Rock Stadium gets the final when Copa Am\u00e9rica returns to the United States in 2024. A joint announcement was made Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, by CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, the governing bodies of South American and North American soccer, respectively. Other sites and scheduling for the 16-team tournament will be revealed later.(AP Photo\/Mike Stewart, File)
FILE – A general overall interior view of the Hard Rock Stadium as the New England Patriots take on the Miami Dolphins during an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was awarded the opening game and South Florida\u2019s Hard Rock Stadium will host the final of Copa Am\u00e9rica, the storied South American championship that will be held outside of its home continent for only the second time next summer. A joint announcement was made Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, by CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, the governing bodies of South American and North American soccer, respectively. Other sites and scheduling for the 16-team tournament will be revealed later.(AP Photo\/Doug Murray, File)
FILE – A general overall interior view of the Hard Rock Stadium as the New England Patriots take on the Miami Dolphins during an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was awarded the opening game and South Florida\u2019s Hard Rock Stadium will host the final of Copa Am\u00e9rica, the storied South American championship that will be held outside of its home continent for only the second time next summer. A joint announcement was made Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, by CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, the governing bodies of South American and North American soccer, respectively. Other sites and scheduling for the 16-team tournament will be revealed later.(AP Photo\/Doug Murray, File)
ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was awarded the 2024 Copa Am\u00e9rica opener and South Florida\u2019s Hard Rock Stadium will host the final of the tournament, held outside of its home continent<\/a><\/span> for only the second time
A joint announcement was made Monday by soccer\u2019s governing bodies of South America and of North and Central America and the Caribbean. Other sites and the schedule for the 16-team tournament were not revealed.
The tournament is set to begin<\/a><\/span> on June 20 at 71,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Major League Soccer\u2019s Atlanta United has set numerous attendance records. Defending Copa Am\u00e9rica champion Argentina<\/a><\/span>, led by Lionel Messi, will presumably be one of the teams taking part in the opener.
The retractable-roof stadium<\/a><\/span> near downtown Atlanta, which opened in 2017, will install a grass field over its artificial playing surface for the tournament.
Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens already has a Bermuda grass field and seats about 65,000 after a $500 million renovation<\/a><\/span> that included installation of a roof above seating areas. The 36-year-old home of the NFL\u2019s Miami Dolphins will host the July 14 final. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe expect stadiums filled with the passion of the entire American continent for the inauguration and the final,\u201d Alejandro Dominguez, president of the South American governing body CONMEBOL. said in a statement.
Both stadiums have been selected as sites for the 2026 World Cup<\/a><\/span>, to be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
\u201cThe cities have passionate sports and football fans renowned for getting behind major events,\u201d Victor Montagliani, president of the Confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean Association Football, said in a statement.
Copa Am\u00e9rica is expanding this season, with six teams from North America joining the usual 10 nations from South America that compete for the continental championship. It mirrors a special tournament that was held in 2016 in the United States to mark the centennial of the event \u2014 the only previous time it was staged outside of South America.
The draw will be Dec. 7 in Miami.
Neither Miami nor Atlanta was involved in Copa Am\u00e9rica Centenario, which was held at 10 venues: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; NRG Stadium in Houston; Soldier Field in Chicago; Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida; Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara, California; CenturyLink Stadium in Seattle; State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona; and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
The 2016 opener was held at Levi\u2019s Stadium in the San Francisco Bay area, while the final won by Chile over Argentina on penalty kicks — Messi memorably left the field in tears after putting his attempt over the crossbar — was played at MetLife Stadium in suburban New York City.
Both of those stadiums have been selected as 2026 World Cup sites, along with Gillette Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, NRG Stadium and CenturyLink Stadium, making them strong candidates to also host Copa Am\u00e9rica games. The other U.S. World Cup sites are AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Except for the Centenario tournament, Copa Am\u00e9rica hosting duties usually have rotated among the 10 COMNEBOL nations in South America. The arrangement called for Ecuador to host in 2024, but that country backed out because of security issues.
All 10 South American national teams compete in the quadrennial tournament, and two guest teams have been invited to most of the tournaments since 1993.
For the 2024 edition, the CONMEBOL regulars will be joined by six CONCACAF qualifiers, comprised of the four quarterfinal winners in the Nations League and two play-in teams from the quarterfinal losers.
The two-legged quarters began last week. The United States, which was not guaranteed a spot in Copa Am\u00e9rica despite its hosting duties, defeated Trinidad and Tobago 3-0<\/a><\/span> in Austin, Texas to gain a commanding aggregate edge heading into the second leg Monday night in Port-of- Spain.
In the other opening-leg matches, Honduras stunned Mexico 2-0, Canada won at Jamaica 2-1, and Panama routed Costa Rica 3-0. The second leg of Panama-Costa Rica was set for Monday night, while the other two quarterfinal games are scheduled for Tuesday.
The Nations League semifinals and finals<\/a><\/span> will be held in March at AT&T Stadium.
Atlanta and Miami figure to be in the mix, as well, for another major tournament scheduled in the U.S. ahead of the World Cup.
The FIFA Club World Cup will expand from seven to 32 teams for its 2025 edition, which will be played in June and July instead of its previous winter spot on the calendar. The sites for that event are expected to be announced next year.
Teams that have already qualified for the 2025 Club World Cup include Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Seattle, Palmerias, Flamengo, Fluminense, Monterrey and Le\u00f3n.
AP soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/a><\/span>
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n