Gold Cup explainer: What winning means for teams in CONCACAF

The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup gets underway on June 24 as defending champions USA kick things off against Jamaica. It will run through July 16, when the final match will be held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

16 teams enter the Gold Cup after CONCACAF decided to expand it from 12 teams starting in 2019. In addition to Qatar participating for the second consecutive time as invited guests, the qualified teams for 2023 are mainly determined from the CONCACAF Nations League which hands some countries automatic berths in the group stage while others enter a qualifying tournament.

Previously, the winner of the Gold Cup would gain qualification for the FIFA Confederations Cup as long as the two tournaments weren't being held in the same year. The Gold Cup is held every two years and the Confederations Cup would fall every four years in conjunction with the World Cup. However, FIFA did away with that tournament in 2019 in favor of an expanded Club World Cup format.

Since that change was made, the champions of CONCACAF just receive another trophy to add to their display as well as prize money. In 2021 the USMNT was awarded $1 million for winning while Mexico received $500,000 for finishing as the runners-up.

Mexico have won the most Gold Cup titles with eight, but USA could tie it up with another win this year as they're looking for their eighth Gold Cup trophy.

  
Read Full Article