Despite CONMEBOL rejecting a proposal from the U.S. Soccer Federation for an expanded Copa America in 2020, USSF president Carlos Cordeiro says that the invitation to host the tournament "is still valid." Both CONMEBOL and CONCACAF had been engaged in discussions over the past year about holding another combined Copa America, similar to the hugely successful version hosted by the U.S. in 2016. But with the talks making little headway, the USSF sent letters to CONMEBOL, COMNEBOL's member federations and CONCACAF proposing a new international men's tournament that it called the Continental Cup 2020. The USSF's proposal would have seen it host and underwrite the entire event, and similar to the 2016 Copa Centenario, all 10 CONMEBOL member associations as well as six CONCACAF countries would take part. Excluding prize money, the USSF said it would guarantee CONMEBOL and its teams a total of $90 million. In addition, each team would then stand to make a minimum of $4 million in prize money with more money being awarded to teams that progressed deep into the tournament. - Marcotti: What to expect from Friday's FIFA Council But on Wednesday, CONMEBOL announced not only that it had "rejected expressions of interest and proposals received by the United States, Australia, and commercial agencies Dentsu and IMG," but that it had provisionally awarded the hosting rights for the 2020 tournament to Argentina and Colombia. CONMEBOL said the joint bid was way of "bringing South American football to the fans" though a more detailed presentation by both countries would be required. Following the 2019 edition of the Copa America, which will be held in Brazil, CONMEBOL opted to hold another edition in 2020. It is CONBEBOL's intention to hold the tournament every four years thereafter in a bid to align it with the European Championships. The 2020 edition is expected to have 16 teams and, according to Reuters, Mexico and the U.S. would be among the invitees. Speaking to ESPN FC via telephone ahead of a gathering of the FIFA Council in Miami, Cordeiro expressed hope that further discussions could be had with CONMEBOL about the USSF's proposal. "Our invitation is still valid. No doors are closed as of yet," he said via telephone. "We would like there to be an open, honest conversation about ways in which our two confederations can all come together about the long-term viability of an event that we can play in each other's territories over many years. "It's not about what we call it and who runs it. It's about growing the game for our fans and our players. We think there is a significant opportunity here that we want to take advantage of." Even if CONMEBOL proceeds with its plans for Argentina and Colombia to host the 2020 Copa America, the USSF is expected to forge ahead and host its own tournament that summer, though it will likely be smaller than the 16-team tourney it proposed to CONMEBOL. There is a gap in the calendar for the U.S. men's team, and the same is true for teams from Asia and Africa. One requirement is that the tournament will need to be put on FIFA's calendar so that players will be released by their clubs and allowed to participate.<doc-sep>The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) has rejected a proposal from the United States and awarded the 2020 Copa America tournament to Argentina and Colombia. Conmebol officials meeting in Miami on Wednesday said the joint bid was accepted as a way of “bringing South American football to the fans” and would be subject to a more detailed presentation by both countries. The next edition of the tournament, usually played by all 10 South American nations and at least two invited guests, is due to be held in Brazil in June. Conmebol want to hold another Copa America the following year and thereafter host it every four years, to bring it into line with its equivalent in Europe, the European Championship. The tournament organisation has been haphazard in recent times and a 2020 tournament would be the fourth Copa America in six years after Chile (2015), a special centenary edition in the United States in 2016, and Brazil (2019). Copa America 2015 - in pictures Show all 23 1 /23 Copa America 2015 - in pictures Copa America 2015 - in pictures Chile 2 Ecuador 0 Arturo Vidal (pictured) and Eduardo Vargas scored as the hosts won Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Uruguay 1 Jamaica 0 Cristian Rodriguez scored the only goal of the game as a Luis Suarez-less Uruguay secured a narrow win Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Argentina 2 Paraguay 2 Paraguay battled from two goals back and scored an 89th minute winner to draw with the tournament favourites Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Colombia 0 Venezuela 1 Salomon Rondon headed home for the Venezuelans to upset Colombia Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Brazil 2 Peru 1 Douglas Costa scored an injury-time winner for Brazil Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Ecuador 2 Bolivia 3 The Bolivians went into a 3-0 first-half lead and were able to hang on Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Chile 3 Mexico 3 The hosts were held thanks to two goals by Matias Vuoso Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Paraguay 1 Jamaica 0 Paraguay players surround Edgar Benitez after his first-half strike settled the tie Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Argentina 1 Uruguay 0 Sergio Aguero scored the only goal of the game as Argentina notched their first win of the competition Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Brazil 0 Colombia 1 Neymar clashes with Colombia's Carlos Bacca at the final whistle GETTY IMAGES Copa America 2015 - in pictures Peru 1 Venezuela 0 Former Chelsea striker Claudio Pizarro fires home as Peru took advantage of their 10-man opponents Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Mexico 1 Ecuador 2 West Ham's Enner Valencia scored the winner but it was not enough to see Ecuador progress to the knockout stages Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Chile 5 Bolivia 0 Charles Aranguiz scores one og his two goals as hosts Chile maintained their momentum - Bolivia also progressed Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Uruguay 1 Paraguay 1 Lucas Barrios scored a crucial equaliser for Paraguay as both teams qualified Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Argentina 1 Jamaica 0 Gonzalo Higuain scored the only goal of the game before Deshorn Brown bizarrely took a 'selfi'e with Lionel Messi at the final whistle GETTY IMAGES Copa America 2015 - in pictures Colombia 0 Peru 0 Chelsea target Radamel Falcao again struggled as Colombia just managed to make it to the quarter-final Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Brazil 2 Venezuela 1 Brazil fought from a goal back without star man Neymar as Manchester United and Liverpool target Roberto Firmino scored the winner Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Chile 1 Uruguay 0 Mauricio Isla scored the winner but the action was overshadowed by Gonzalo Jara 'poking' Edinson Cavani in the bottom Twitter Copa America 2015 - in pictures Bolivia 1 Peru 3 Paolo Guerrero scored a hat-trick to ease Peru into the semi-finals Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Argentina 0 Colombia 0 (pens: 5-4) Carlos Tevez scores the winning penalty in the quarter-final shoot-out after Jeison Murillo had missed Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Brazil 1 Paraguay 1 (pens: 3-4) Douglas Costa reacts after missing a crucial penalty that say Brazil crash out of the tournament Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Chile 2 Peru 1 The hosts didn't play their best but reached the final thanks to a brace from Eduardo Vargas Getty Images Copa America 2015 - in pictures Argentina 6 Paraguay 1 Angel Di Maria scored twice as a Argentina reached the final with a brilliant performance GETTY IMAGES The United States had offered to host the tournament again in 2020 as part of an Americas-wide competition featuring not just teams from South America but also North America and the Caribbean. Conmebol, however, rejected the idea, opting to preserve the historic integrity of the tournament, the oldest in international football. It “rejected expressions of interest and proposals received by the United States, Australia, and commercial agencies Dentsu and IMG,” it said in a statement. A source told Reuters that Conmebol would still extend invitations for the 2020 tournament to Mexico and the United States. The tournament is likely to have 16 participants, with two groups of four in both Colombia and Argentina. Each nation would host one semi-final and the final would be played in Argentina. Argentina last held the tournament in 2011, while Colombia were hosts most recently in 2001. Reuters<doc-sep>U.S. Soccer has invited South America’s 10 soccer federations to bring their national teams to the United States in 2020 for a new intercontinental championship that would run concurrently with that summer’s European Championship. The offer, a package that includes almost $200 million in guarantees to the invited teams and their governing bodies, was made Tuesday in a letter from U.S. Soccer’s president, Carlos Cordeiro, to his counterparts at the 10 South American federations. For the past year, soccer officials across the Americas have held discussions about creating a quadrennial tournament involving national teams from both continents, but with no agreement in sight, U.S. Soccer, eager to fill a gap in the global soccer calendar and bearing an enticing nine-figure offer, is now proposing to establish its own. In the letter, Cordeiro said U.S. Soccer was offering to underwrite the new event and guarantee each nation — and both confederations — millions of dollars in appearance fees, subsidized travel and bonuses for each point earned. The champions could take home a prize of more than $11 million. Cordeiro has invited the South Americans to a meeting to discuss the proposal next week in Miami. The proposed 16-team tournament would resemble, in structure though most likely not in name, the 2016 Copa América Centenario. That tournament, a relocated version of the South American championship — expanded to celebrate the event’s 100th anniversary — brought the 10 members of the South American confederation, Conmebol, to the United States for a month to face off not only against one another, but also a half-dozen opponents from Concacaf, the regional confederation made up of North and Central America and the Caribbean.<doc-sep>
ASUNCION (Reuters) - The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) has rejected a proposal from the United States and awarded the 2020 Copa America tournament to Argentina and Colombia. FILE PHOTO: 2019 Copa America Draw - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - January 24, 2019 General view of the trophy during the draw REUTERS/Sergio Moraes/File Photo CONMEBOL officials meeting in Miami on Wednesday said the joint bid was accepted as a way of “bringing South American football to the fans” and would be subject to a more detailed presentation by both countries. The next edition of the tournament, usually played by all 10 South American nations and at least two invited guests, is due to be held in Brazil in June. CONMEBOL want to hold another Copa America the following year and thereafter host it every four years, to bring it into line with its equivalent in Europe, the European Championship. The tournament organization has been haphazard in recent times and a 2020 tournament would be the fourth Copa America in six years after Chile (2015), a special centenary edition in the United States in 2016, and Brazil (2019). The United States had offered to host the tournament again in 2020 as part of an Americas-wide competition featuring not just teams from South America but also North America and the Caribbean. CONMEBOL, however, rejected the idea, opting to preserve the historic integrity of the tournament, the oldest in international football. It “rejected expressions of interest and proposals received by the United States, Australia, and commercial agencies Dentsu and IMG,” it said in a statement. A source told Reuters that CONMEBOL would still extend invitations for the 2020 tournament to Mexico and the United States. The tournament is likely to have 16 participants, with two groups of four in both Colombia and Argentina. Each nation would host one semi-final and the final would be played in Argentina. Argentina last held the tournament in 2011, while Colombia were hosts most recently in 2001.