Prestigious Copa America soccer tournament coming to U.S.

The Copa America, among soccer’s most prestigious international tournaments, will be played in the United States for the first time next June, officials from U.S. Soccer and the ruling federations for the sport in both North and South America announced Friday.

Twenty-four cities are under consideration to play host to tournament games, including Pasadena, which staged the finals of both the 1994 World Cup and 1999 Women’s World Cup. The Rose Bowl is on the short list for the Copa America final, but media reports claiming the stadium has already been selected are erroneous, a person with knowledge of the talks said Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the talks.

Other cities that have expressed interest in playing host to games include Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Dallas.

Next year’s tournament, which will be played June 3 to 26, will mark the 100th anniversary of South America’s quadrennial soccer championship. The field will include all 10 national teams from that continent as well as squads from Mexico, the United States, Costa Rica and Jamaica.

Friday’s announcement erased doubts about the fate of the tournament, which was in danger of being canceled after 14 soccer officials and marketing executives were indicted by the Justice Department last May on corruption charges, some of which centered on the Copa America.

Officials with U.S. Soccer were especially wary of the event and even declined to take part in talks last month in Mexico City designed to revive the tournament. But those fears were eased last week when CONCACAF -- the ruling federation for soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean -- announced it had reclaimed the Copa America marketing rights from Datisa S.A., the company at the center of the Justice Department’s investigation.

U.S. Soccer, which will organize and execute the event, also demanded the creation of a five-person executive committee composed of two CONCACAF members, two members from CONMEBOL, South American soccer’s governing body, and one delegate from U.S. Soccer. The committee will be charged with managing the event and ensuring a “transparent … structure.”

Despite the initial reluctance of U.S. Soccer to remain involved with the Copa America, the tournament is hugely important for the sport in the U.S. in two ways. For the national team, it provides an opportunity to compete against the likes of Argentina, Brazil and Chile during a break in World Cup qualifying. And for the federation, which is expected to make a bid to host the 2026 World Cup, staging a large, national event such as the Copa America provides a chance for U.S. Soccer to show off its organizational muscle.

CONCACAF and CONMEBOL issued a joint statement Friday in which they celebrated their agreement. “We are extremely happy for our fans, our teams and our partners, that we were able to find a way to host the Copa America Centenario celebration in the United States under an entirely new structure for managing the tournament’s operations and finances. The improved governance structure will bring greater accountability and transparency to the event so it can serve its two intended purposes -- to celebrate the 100 years of history of Copa America, and provide a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle for fans in the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL regions.”