The groups and venues for the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament, to be held from Oct. 28-Nov. 8 in Cancún and Playa del Carmen, Mexico, were announced today after the draw was held at the CONCACAF headquarters in New York City.
The United States has been drawn into Group B along with Costa Rica, Haiti and Guatemala. Group A features host Mexico, Canada, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana. Group A will play in the 9,000-seat Estadio Beto Ávila in Cancún, which is the regular venue for Mexican baseball team the Quintana Roo Tigres.
Group B will face off in Estadio Unidad Deportiva in Playa del Carmen, which holds around 7,000 fans and is home to the Inter Playa del Carmen soccer team in Mexico’s third division. Both stadiums feature natural grass surfaces. Playa del Carmen is just 42 miles south of Cancun on the Yucatán Peninsula.
The eight-team competition, formerly known as the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup, will send both finalists to the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany while the tournament’s third-place finisher will face the fifth place team from Europe in a home-and-home and series for a World Cup spot. The 16-team 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament will be held in nine German cities from June 26-July 17.
After round-robin play within the groups, the top two teams in each of the group will cross over for the all-important semifinals, with the first-place team in Group A facing the second place team in Group B and vice-versa.
The United States has won all four CONCACAF Women’s World Cup qualifying tournaments in which it has competed (1991, 1994, 2002 and 2006) with all four championship games featuring a USA vs. Canada match-up.
The CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup, which began in 2000, was won by the United States in its inaugural edition as well as in 2002 and 2006. Prior to the establishment of the Women’s Gold Cup, the confederation hosted the CONCACAF Women’s Championship starting in 1991. The United States won that competition in 1991, and 1993 and 1994 (which were not qualifying tournaments for a World Cup) while Canada lifted the trophy in 1998 when the United States automatically qualified to the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup as hosts.
The match dates and times for the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying will be announced in the near future.
So far, just three nations have qualified for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup as Australia, Korea DPR and Japan from Asia will join host Germany. The remaining 12 qualifiers will be determined over the next few months during the fall.
2010 CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament
Cancún and Playa del Carmen, Mexico
GROUP A
Mexico
Canada
Trinidad & Tobago
Guyana
GROUP B
United States
Costa Rica
Haiti
Guatemala