It was also expected to happen, but FIFA gave official word on Friday that the Copa America Centenario has been placed on the official 2016 events calendar. The addition to the calendar means the participating nations will have a full complement of players from which to build their teams, so players like Lionel Messi, Neymar and Falcao should all be participating. The tournament runs from June 3-26, 2016 and will be played in the United States for the first time.
Copa America 2016 added to FIFA calendar, top players to feature
Qualification process for final two spots also revealed.
Laurence Griffiths
Although the matches will all be played in the United States, venues have not yet been announced.
In addition to the 10 CONMEBOL nations that normally make up the bulk of the Copa America, the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and three more CONCACAF countries will compete in the 100th anniversary edition.
One of the remaining CONCACAF spots will be decided by the winner of the Caribbean Cup. The final two spots will be decided through a playoff among the top four not-already-qualified finishers at the 2015 Gold Cup. Those teams will be seeded 1-4 with the top seed playing the bottom seed in a playoff double-header. The winners of those two games will gain qualification. If, however, a team who has not already qualified for the Copa America wins the 2015 Gold Cup, that team will gain automatic qualification and there will be a single playoff game between the second and third best finishers for the final spot.
The United States and Mexico were automatic qualifiers and Costa Rica earned its spot by virtue of winning the recently concluded Copa Centroamericana.
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