File photo of the Honduras national soccer team celebrating after winning the 2008 Concacaf pre-Olympic tournament. Nashville, Tennessee, USA. March 23, 2008. REUTERS / Josh Anderson
MEXICO CITY, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Concacaf confirmed on Friday that the area’s pre-Olympic soccer tournament will be played in March in the western Mexican city of Guadalajara, a year after the coronavirus pandemic forced to suspend it.
In March 2020, the entity that governs soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean suspended its competitions, including the pre-Olympic tournament that would be played from March 20 to April 1 of that year.
“The competition will be held in Guadalajara, Mexico, from March 18 to 30. Two venues will be used for the competition, the Jalisco and Akron stadiums,” Concacaf said in a statement.
The pre-Olympic tournament, which awards two tickets to the Olympic Games, will be contested by the teams of Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, the United States, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
The eight teams will be divided into two groups. Group A will be made up of representatives from Mexico, the United States, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, while group B will include Honduras, Canada, El Salvador and Haiti.
The first and second places in each group will advance to the semifinals, and the winners of the semifinals will be at the Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo between July 23 and August 8.
“Concacaf worked with FIFA, the FMF and local stakeholders on the health protocols that will be implemented to ensure that this competition takes place in a safe environment for all participants,” the agency said.
The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 104 million people and caused more than two million deaths globally.
(Report by Carlos Calvo Pacheco)
