2025 Gold Cup may include European teams and other giants

The CONCACAF Gold Cup could be in for drastic changes. A report surfaced suggesting a major expansion for the tournament in 2025.

Mexican outlet Diario Record is reporting that the 2025 Gold Cup will include eight clubs from outside of CONCACAF. 16 CONCACAF teams typically feature in the Gold Cup. The new expansion will bring the tournament size to 24 teams. According to the report, the octet will feature two teams from Europe, two from Asia, two from Africa, and two from CONMEBOL’s South American region.

Report matches up with previous news unveiled this week

News of a possible expansion of the Gold Cup aligns with other previous reports. On Wednesday, CONCACAF and South American confedertaion CONMEBOL announced a strategic partnership. In this agreement, the United States, Canada and Mexico would host a major tournament in 2025. Essentially, it is a dry attempt for host stadiums at the 2026 World Cup. The three North American nations are all co-hosting the next World Cup tournament.

The Gold Cup expansion is, however, not yet set in stone. Negotiations are currently taking place on the fly. Similar reports suggest that national teams that already in the 2026 World Cup would be interested in joining the Gold Cup competition. This would essentially give the teams a solid feel for a summer tournament in North America.

The USMNT would also certainly love to have more competitive matches in their build up to the World Cup as well. As co-hosts, the Yanks would benefit from playing major competition as they prepare for the world’s stage in 2026.

Gold Cup 2025 expansion is possible with FIFA approval

Advances for this move need approval with the other confederations and FIFA. However, it is not likely that the world’s governing body of the sport would have an issue with the expansion. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has spoken regularly about expanding other global competitions.

The United States has quickly become one of the top destinations for major soccer tournaments. Along with the likely expansion of the 2025 Gold Cup and the 2026 World Cup, the U.S. will also host the 2024 Copa America, the 2028 Olympics, and possibly the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

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