The CONCACAF Gold Cup

The tournament is contested by 16 national teams from CONCACAF, the confederation for football in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and associated territories in the wider region. Mexico and the United States have dominated the Gold Cup era, with Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Jamaica and other nations providing much of the strongest challenge.

The Gold Cup is the regional equivalent of the Euros, Copa América and AFCON, although it is held every two years rather than every four. It has been won by only three different nations under the Gold Cup name, and the same two countries — Mexico and the United States — have dominated almost every edition.

The 16 teams in the finals are split into four groups of four, with each team playing the others in its group once. The top two from every group go through to a knockout stage that runs quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. There is no third-place play-off in recent editions. If a quarter-final or semi-final is level after 90 minutes, it goes straight to a penalty shoot-out. If the final is level after 90 minutes, extra time is played, followed by penalties if the teams are still level.

The matches are nearly always played in the United States, which has hosted most editions either alone or jointly with a neighbouring country. The tournament lasts around three weeks.

The Gold Cup is played in June and July in odd-numbered years, fitting around the major continental tournaments that take place in even years. Like other international tournaments, it slots into the gap when European domestic seasons have finished, which matters for the many CONCACAF players who play their club football in Europe.

The two-year cycle is shorter than the four years used by most other major international tournaments. It gives the region a regular championship and gives smaller nations repeated chances to qualify for a major senior tournament against the regional powers.

In the modern format, most Gold Cup places are linked to the CONCACAF Nations League. Teams qualify either through their Nations League performance or through Gold Cup preliminaries connected to the Nations League structure. The exact criteria can vary by edition; for 2027, CONCACAF has confirmed that the 2026/27 Nations League will serve as the qualifying route, with the detailed criteria to be announced separately.

In some editions, CONCACAF has also invited a guest team from another confederation. Brazil were invited in earlier editions, Qatar took part in 2021 and 2023, and Saudi Arabia were invited for 2025 and 2027. Guest participation depends on the format and agreements for each edition.

The Gold Cup does not normally qualify teams directly for the World Cup. World Cup qualification is a separate CONCACAF competition, although strong Gold Cup performances can still improve a team's profile, confidence and competitive experience before future qualifiers. The Gold Cup also serves as a showcase for smaller CONCACAF nations to test themselves against Mexico, the United States, Canada and the other leading teams in the region.

The Gold Cup winners used to qualify for the FIFA Confederations Cup, the tournament for continental champions plus the World Cup host, but that competition was discontinued in 2017 and has not been replaced.

The CONCACAF Championship was first held in 1963 and ran on an irregular schedule for nearly three decades. The Gold Cup was launched in 1991 as CONCACAF's modern senior men's championship, with the United States winning the first edition. Its early editions changed in timing and format before the tournament settled into the regular two-year rhythm used today.

The tournament has grown in size and profile over the decades. The number of teams in the finals has expanded several times, reaching the current 16 in 2019. The Gold Cup is now CONCACAF's highest-profile men's national-team tournament, with the Mexico–United States rivalry providing many of its biggest matches.

CONCACAF also runs senior women's competitions, including the CONCACAF W Gold Cup and the CONCACAF W Championship. The W Gold Cup is the women's senior tournament closest in name and role to the men's Gold Cup, while the W Championship is used as part of qualification for the Women's World Cup and Olympic Games. CONCACAF has also announced a W Nations League as part of its women's national-team calendar. At youth level, CONCACAF runs under-20 and under-17 championships for men and women, which double as qualifying for the corresponding FIFA youth World Cups. The senior men's Gold Cup remains the region's highest-profile national-team competition.