By Paul Nicholson
July 17 – An unexpected Caribbean hurricane has swept through the group stages of the Gold Cup in the US, and it has nothing to do with sports politics or financial corruption.
July 10 – Six players plus the head coach failed to show up in time because of visa issues whilst another was reported to have defected as Cuba were trounced 6-0 by Mexico Thursday at the opening of the Gold Cup in Chicago.
July 8 – Gold Cup sponsor Allstate Insurance is activating its partnership with the additional moniker as the Official Protector of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Trophy. The activation will see Allstate take the Gold Cup Trophy on a seven-city tour across the US during the tournament which kicked off last night in Texas with a win for the US over Honduras.
By Mark Baber
July 7 – CONCACAF have announced that all tickets have been sold for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup doubleheader in Dallas this evening which kicks off at the 20,500 capacity Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
By Paul Nicholson
June 19 – Organisers of the 2015 Gold Cup to be played in the US starting July 7 are reporting ticket sales running at double the level of sales at the same for the 2013 championship. The news will be a relief for CONCACAF’s leaders as they battle to maintain confidence and the integrity of region’s showcase event for national teams.
By Ben Nicholson
June 15 – New York Knicks basketball star Carmelo Anthony has joined the elite club of celebrity athlete owners of football clubs playing in the North American Soccer League (NASL) by creating his own team in his ancestral home of Puerto Rico.
June 11 – CONCACAF has postponed its U15 Boys Championship originally scheduled to be played in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica this August until further notice.
May 18 – Grenada has been named as hosts for the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s U17 Championship next March. The regional confederation has also announced the four US cities that will host the men’s Olympic qualifying tournament in October – Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City.
May 11 – The Caribbean Football Union’s senior club competition will go into its final round games in Trinidad, May 22-24. Three of the four qualifying teams will go into the June 1 draw for the 2015/2016 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League.
May 8 – Honduras have stepped up to host the second regional championship in the country in a year, with the CONCACAF Under-20 Women’s Championship 2015 this December. The championship will decide the three teams to qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Papua New Guinea 2016.
April 30 – Brazil have joined England in sending teams to the Caribbean this August for the second CONCACAF Boys’ Under-15 Championship that now has grown to a 37-nation tournament.
By Paul Nicholson
April 29 – The second leg of the CONCACAF Scotiabank Champions League final kicks off tonight in Montreal in front of a sell out crowd. Last week the first leg of the final between Club America and Montreal Impact ended even at 1-1 in front of an estimated 80,000+ spectators in Mexico City’s iconic Azteca Stadium.
April 13 – The head of the United States Soccer Federation says handing the 2026 World Cup to his country would not only give the sport a further boost but also allow FIFA to put its flagship event back on safe territory in terms of its international image.
April 10 – A new attendance record was set in the iconic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City for the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League semi-final between Mexican giants Club America and Costa Rica’s Herediano this week.
March 24 – With five days to go before the 16-team 2015 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship in El Salvador kicks off, official rosters have been announced. A month ago, CONCACAF gathered the head coaches of the national teams for a four-day technical workshop in Florida.