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FIFA has endorsed the South American confederation CONMEBOL's proposal to switch their Copa America competition to even years starting in 2020. Football's world governing body announced its decision on Friday at the FIFA Council meeting in Kigali, Rwanda. FIFA also announced that the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations was formally moved from January/February to June/July of that year. The Copa America will now be held every four years in line with UEFA's European Championship. The decision means next year's edition in Brazil will be the final version held on an odd-numbered year. That tournament will include the ten South American countries that compose CONMEBOL, plus guest countries Japan and Qatar. CONMEBOL held a version of the tournament on an even-numbered year in 2016 to celebrate its centennial. That event featured 16 sides that included Mexico and hosts United States. Sources told ESPN Mexico on Friday that Mexico's football federation will seek to send a full-strength squad to the Copa America starting in 2020. Mexico's commitment to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, currently held on odd-numbered years, precluded it from previously sending its marquee European-based players to both tournaments. Information from Reuters was used in this report.
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