Reports out of South America that the 2016 Copa America Centenario will definitely be held in the United States appear to be premature, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Reuters reported earlier on Friday that the tournament "would definitely be held in the U.S," citing an interview that CONMEBOL president Juan Angel Napout gave to Paraguayan radio station Urbana.
"We have once again ratified the unanimous decision taken at a meeting in August to hold the Centenary Cup in its original format in the United States," Napout said.
Napout added, "I was one of those who dreamt of this cup, work has been going on and we have advanced considerably. Now what we need is the goodwill to get it back on track."
He later told the Associated Press: "Our executive committee of CONMEBOL has decided to have talks with CONCACAF representatives on Sept. 17 in Mexico City. The only topic of the meeting: playing the Copa Centenario in the United States."
But a U.S. Soccer Federation spokesman declined to confirm that the federation was moving forward with the tournament. He also declined to comment on whether a representative from the USSF would join officials from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL for the meeting on Thursday in which planning for the tournament is to be discussed.
A source with knowledge of the situation added that the USSF "is still in discussions on whether they will host the tournament."
Since 2007, the Copa America has been held every four years, with the latest edition having been held last June in Chile. The 2016 edition is designed to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the formation of CONMEBOL, and was set to include six nations from CONCACAF in addition to the 10 countries that comprise CONMEBOL.
But in the wake of nine soccer officials and several marketing executives being indicated by the U.S. Justice Department last May on corruption charges, doubts have been cast on whether the tournament would go ahead.
There have been conflicting reports in recent days stating that the tournament would be hosted by a country other than the U.S., with Mexico, Ecuador, and Chile among the countries mentioned.