Football
ESPN staff 10y

FIFA adds 2016 Copa America Centennial to official calendar

FIFA on Friday made the dates of the 2016 Copa America Centennial part of its official international events calendar, opening the door for both CONCACAF and CONMEBOL to recall the top players in the Americas for the tournament, which will be held June 3-26 in the United States.

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"The addition of the Copa America Centennial for the 2016 FIFA calendar of events means that all the participating countries can call up their players from any league in the world," CONCACAF said via press release on Friday. "This means the countries can bring their best players to the tournament."

In a 16-team field, the 10 CONMEBOL countries --  Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela -- will be joined by six competitors from CONCACAF, including host and 2013 Gold Cup champion United States, six-time Gold Cup champion Mexico and 2014 Central American Cup winner Costa Rica.

The winner of the 2014 Caribbean Football Union's Caribbean Cup, scheduled for November in Jamaica, will also earn a Centennial Cup America berth.

"With its addition to the FIFA Calendar, the historic Centennial Cup America in 2016 is now set to be the most important full national team tournament hosted in the Americas since this year's FIFA World Cup," said CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb. "We want to thank FIFA, all Confederations and all others involved for their unconditional support in this process, making sure that this once in a lifetime celebration was treated with the respect that the players, football fans around the world and participating countries deserve."

Argentina hosted the last Copa America in 2011, as Uruguay claimed a record 15th title. The next edition is set to be played in Chile in 2015.

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