Atlanta to host opening game, Miami gets the final for 2024 Copa América

If Argentina advances to the championship game, it would give Messi a chance to play in the same market as his current MLS team, Inter Miami.

“We expect stadiums filled with the passion of the entire American continent for the inauguration and the final,” Alejandro Dominguez, president of the South American governing body CONMEBOL. said in a statement.

Both stadiums have been selected as sites for the 2026 World Cup, to be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

“The cities have passionate sports and football fans renowned for getting behind major events,” Victor Montagliani, president of the Confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean Association Football, said in a statement.

Copa América is expanding this season, with six teams from North America joining the usual 10 nations from South America that compete for the continental championship. It mirrors a special tournament that was held in 2016 in the United States to mark the centennial of the event — the only previous time it was staged outside of South America.

The draw will be Dec. 7 in Miami.

Neither Miami nor Atlanta was involved in Copa América Centenario, which was held at 10 venues: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; NRG Stadium in Houston; Soldier Field in Chicago; Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida; Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California; CenturyLink Stadium in Seattle; State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona; and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

The 2016 opener was held at Levi’s Stadium in the San Francisco Bay area, while the final won by Chile over Argentina on penalty kicks — Messi memorably left the field in tears after putting his attempt over the crossbar — was played at MetLife Stadium in suburban New York City.

Both of those stadiums have been selected as 2026 World Cup sites, along with Gillette Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, NRG Stadium and CenturyLink Stadium, making them strong candidates to also host Copa América games. The other U.S. World Cup sites are AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Except for the Centenario tournament, Copa América hosting duties usually have rotated among the 10 COMNEBOL nations in South America. The arrangement called for Ecuador to host in 2024, but that country backed out because of security issues.

All 10 South American national teams compete in the quadrennial tournament, and two guest teams have been invited to most of the tournaments since 1993.

For the 2024 edition, the CONMEBOL regulars will be joined by six CONCACAF qualifiers, comprised of the four quarterfinal winners in the Nations League and two play-in teams from the quarterfinal losers.

The two-legged quarters began last week. The United States, which was not guaranteed a spot in Copa América despite its hosting duties, defeated Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 in Austin, Texas to gain a commanding aggregate edge heading into the second leg Monday night in Port-of- Spain.

In the other opening-leg matches, Honduras stunned Mexico 2-0, Canada won at Jamaica 2-1, and Panama routed Costa Rica 3-0. The second leg of Panama-Costa Rica was set for Monday night, while the other two quarterfinal games are scheduled for Tuesday.

The Nations League semifinals and finals will be held in March at AT&T Stadium.

Atlanta and Miami figure to be in the mix, as well, for another major tournament scheduled in the U.S. ahead of the World Cup.

The FIFA Club World Cup will expand from seven to 32 teams for its 2025 edition, which will be played in June and July instead of its previous winter spot on the calendar. The sites for that event are expected to be announced next year.

Teams that have already qualified for the 2025 Club World Cup include Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Seattle, Palmerias, Flamengo, Fluminense, Monterrey and León.