TQL Stadium will again be on the international stage this summer as the venue will host portions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer tournament.
Officials announced TQL Stadium was one of 14 venues selected to host Gold Cup games, which will run from June 16 to July 17, with the championship match being contested at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles.
Four of those venues will be introduced to Gold Cup competition for the very first time as the competition will broaden its footprint across the U.S. and Canada.
CONCACAF will announce a complete match schedule, including specific match venue assignments, ticketing information, and other details in the days following the official draw, officials said in a news release.
Here's more on what we know about the event coming to TQL Stadium for the first time:
What is the CONCACAF Gold Cup?
"CONCACAF" is an acronym for one of the six regional governing bodies of soccer operating underneath the umbrella of FIFA, which governs the sports across the globe.
CONCACAF stands for: "The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football," and 41 member associations operate out of CONCACAF. So, CONCACAF promotes and policies the sport in this part of the world.
The Gold Cup is simply a biennial tournament that crowns a champion for the region. The tournament field includes the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Cuba, Jamaica, Guatemala, Haiti, and Nicaragua have all qualified for the tournament.
Twelve further national teams are competing in preliminary-round games, which will result in three further teams joining the Gold Cup field.
Rounding out the Gold Cup field is Qatar, which will also participate in the Gold Cup as an invited guest, just as it did in 2021.
What's the tournament format and which games will Cincy host?
The tournament features an initial group stage for the 16 qualifiers. That's followed by a single-elimination knockout competition for the national teams that advance from the group stage.
The draw for tournament takes place Friday. That's when we'll know which teams play in which groups. And again, CONCACAF officials are expected at that time to also reveal a complete match schedule, including specific match venue assignments, ticketing information, and other details in the days following the official draw.
It's likely Cincinnati could host some group-stage games. A knockout-round game or two shouldn't be out of the question either. Just keep in mind CONCACAF has committed to 14 markets, and the later-round knockout games will definitely be staged in larger venues.
Which venues is TQL Stadium competing with for games?
TQL Stadium is not stranger to top-level international matches. It's already hosted the fabled USMNT-Mexico FIFA World Cup qualifying match, which it staged in November 2021. The venue's also hosted friendlies for both the MNT and the USMNT.
Also, many of the key contributors at FC Cincinnati who helped stage those matches are still in the picture and have five total games worth of experience in staging these big, international games because two were also held at the University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium.
So, TQL Stadium and its staff is more than qualified to host matches of this magnitude. Still, the competition for high-profile games is stiff. Here's the full list of Gold Cup sites for this summer's tournament:
- AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas (also hosted games in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2021)
- Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC (2011, 2015, 2019)
- Soldier Field, Chicago (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019)
- TQL Stadium, Cincinnati (first-time host)
- DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, FL (2021)
- State Farm Stadium, Glendale (2009, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021)
- Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey (2013, 2017, 2019)
- NRG Stadium, Houston (2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2019, 2021)
- Shell Energy Stadium, Houston (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021)
- SoFi Stadium, Inglewood (first-time host)
- Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas (2021)
- Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego (first-time host)
- Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California (2017)
- CITYPARK Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri (first-time host)
- BMO Field, Toronto (2015)
Who's the tournament favorite?
Typically, the Gold Cup is dominated by the USMNT and Mexico. The Americans are the reigning champions and have seven Gold Cup titles in their trophy case while Mexico has eight championships in the competition.
Canada is the only other team in the region to win the Gold Cup. it did so once, in 2000.
But both Mexico and the USMNT are engaged in some form of managerial transition. Argentinian Diego Cocca recently took control of the Mexico senior program.
The U.S. is being led by interim manager Anthony Hudson while the program is still in the midst of a post-World Cup shakeup. A permanent manager will be selected after the ongoing search to fill the program's vacant general manager position is concluded.
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