Snapdragon Stadium lands Concacaf showcase

Article posted by Coliseum, December 7^th, 2023

Image: Snapdragon Stadium, Spatms, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) has announced that the final of the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup, the region’s new flagship competition for women’s senior national teams, has been awarded to the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California (US).

‘Concacaf’ stated that San Diego’s newest sports venue is home to the San Diego Wave FC of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and recently hosted a soldout 2023 Gold Cup semifinal between the men’s national teams of the United States and Panama (country in Central America).

Miami (US)-based the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as Concacaf, is one of FIFA’s six continental governing bodies for association football. It serves as the organizing body for 41 national associations, including the United States, and spans from Canada in the North to Suriname (country in South America) in the South.

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The Concacaf W Gold Cup is an upcoming international women’s football competition contested by the senior women’s national teams of the member-associations of Concacaf, the regional governing body of North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

The National Women’s Soccer League is a professional women’s soccer league at the top of the United States league system. Headquartered in New York City, it is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federation.

The Snapdragon Stadium is a 35,000-seat multipurpose stadium in San Diego, California (US). It’s located on the campus of the San Diego State University at the SDSU Mission Valley. The stadium opened on August 19^th, 2022.

Chicago (US)-based the United States Soccer Federation, commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501 nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States.

‘Concacaf’ further stated that the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup will be the first season of the international women’s soccer competition. It will be played from February 17^th-March 10^th, 2024 and will include the participation of 11 Concacaf Member-Associations and four South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) guests.

Luque (Paraguay)-based the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana) and it is one of FIFA’s six continental confederations.

CONMEBOL’s teams have been invited as part of a strategic collaboration agreement between both the Confederations. Thus far, the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Paraguay have qualified for the Group Stage and El Salvador for the Preliminaries. The eight remaining Concacaf participants will be confirmed in the first week of December after the conclusion of the 2023 Road to Concacaf W Gold Cup.

The final to be held on March 10^th will crown the first-ever Concacaf W Gold Cup champion, culminating almost five years of unprecedented growth for the women’s game in the region. Since launching its Concacaf W strategy in 2019, which includes hosting elite football tournaments such as the Concacaf W Championship and the Concacaf W Gold Cup, the Confederation has been working with its Member-Associations and other stakeholders to prioritize the growth of women’s football, providing all teams a platform to compete to reach their next level.

Concacaf has also confirmed that the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup Official Draw will take place on December 11^th, 2023 in Miami, Florida. The made-for-TV event will divide the 12 teams participating in the Group Stage into three groups of four.

Exulted Victor Montagliani, Concacaf President and FIFA Vice- President, “San Diego and the Snapdragon Stadium will be a tremendous host for our inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup Final, and I want to thank the City and the venue for their commitment to working with us to further grow women’s football in our region. When we launched our women’s football strategy, we committed to developing the sport for women and girls at all levels. Much work has been done in the past four years, ranging from delivering more girls football projects in our region and implementing enhanced women’s coaching initiatives in the Caribbean and Central America. The Concacaf W Gold Cup is the pinnacle of the women’s game in our Confederation, and it will provide an opportunity to celebrate that progress and commit to doing even more in the future. The tournament will showcase some of the best teams and players in the world, and I can’t wait to see the football unfold next Spring and to crown a champion in San Diego on March 10^th, 2024.”

Enthused Adam Millar, Snapdragon Stadium General Manager, “We are absolutely thrilled to be the host venue for the inaugural Women’s Gold Cup. This is a historic moment in women’s sports, and we are honored to be a part of it. The Snapdragon Stadium is committed to providing a world-class experience for the athletes, fans and everyone involved in the tournament.”

Maintained Mark Neville, Sports San Diego head honcho, “We are fired up to be welcoming the best women’s soccer players in the world to San Diego for the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup in March! It has been a tremendous opportunity to work with the Concacaf team to make this happen, and we are looking forward to a spectacular event.”

Tickets for the Concacaf W Gold Cup, including the final at the Snapdragon Stadium, will be available to the public following the official draw on December 11^th.

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