Copa América To Be Played In United States For First Time In 2016; El Tri, USNMT Guaranteed Spots

Copa America is getting a truly American makeover: CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb has announced that the United States will host the competition in 2016 for the first time since its inception in 1975. "For the first time, Copa America comes home; comes north," Webb said. "What football can do is unite the Americas like never before and reach a previously unexplored pinnacle." The competition hosts nations from across North and South America.

CONMEBOL president Eugenio Figueredo expressed his excitement: "This is an irrefutable message that football is able to carry forward the best purposes as well as those who dreamt about football in South America and CONCACAF. We value CONCACAF allowing us to build a joint history and we want to strengthen. [...] We are making the effort for all counties to bring their best strength. Each country wants to be the champions and so will want to bring their best team. I think all first line players will be part of our selection."

According to the Bleacher Report, this is indicative of the rising popularity of the sport in the United States: "the popularity of soccer in the United States is seemingly on the rise, and that upward trend figures to continue when the U.S. hosts the 2016 Copa America." Mexico and the United States have been guaranteed a place in the 2016 competition. As ESPN's Paul Carr pointed out on Twitter, "if best CONCACAF teams qualify, Copa América 2016 would have 11 of top 25 teams in ESPN's Soccer Power Index."