Concacaf Championship is also the road to the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 for regional teams

Miami (Friday, March 23, 2018) – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) confirmed today that the United States will host the 2018 edition of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, schedule to be played October 4-17, 2018.



The United States will welcome the region’s top women’s national teams for the tournament, which will crown the Confederation champion, and also qualify three teams directly to the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019, plus the fourth-place finisher to an intercontinental playoff.



“Concacaf has long been the home of the highest quality women’s football in the world, so we know fans across the region will be marking their calendars in October for this high-stakes championship,” said Concacaf General Secretary Philippe Moggio. “We’re looking forward to seeing the Championship play out in the United States, as well as the upcoming qualifying rounds of the competition, which in the spirit of access will involve an impressive amount of Caribbean and Central American nations which are currently focused on growing the women’s game at the highest levels.”



“As hosts of the Concacaf Women’s Championship, we’re thrilled to welcome top national women’s teams from our region as they strive to secure a spot in the FIFA Women’s World Cup,” said U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro. “The women’s game continues to grow across our region, and this event provides another opportunity for these athletes to compete at the very highest level. We’re confident that in cooperation with Concacaf, we will stage an exciting tournament for both the fans and the teams.”



The 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship will include a field of eight teams. The United States, as host and defending champion, will participate alongside North American qualifiers Canada and Mexico. The five remaining participants will qualify via the 2018 Concacaf Caribbean Women’s Qualifier and 2018 Concacaf Central America Women’s Qualifier.



Venues, dates and information on the location and format of the tournament draw will be announced in the coming weeks. In the previous edition of the Concacaf Women’s Championship played in Washington DC, Chicago, Kansas City and Philadelphia in 2014, the United States claimed the title - seventh overall, with a 6-0 win over Costa Rica in the final.



The 2018 Concacaf Caribbean Women’s Qualifier, set to kick off on May 5, will be disputed in two stages. For the first round of the regional qualifying tournament, the member associations will be sorted into three groups of five and two groups of four teams.



The final round of Caribbean qualifying will be disputed July 21-29, among the first-round group winners. The top three finishers of the final round will qualify to the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship.



In Central America, the qualifying tournament will be disputed in Nicaragua from July 6-10. After round-robin play, the top two finishers will advance to the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship.



2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship

Date: October 4-17, 2018

Site: United States

Teams: 8

North America (3)

Caribbean (3)

Central America (2)



Number of teams to qualify for the World Cup: 3 (Champion, runner-up and third place). The fourth place finisher will dispute a home-and-away intercontinental playoff, with the third-place finisher of CONMEBOL’s 2018 Women’s Copa America. The winner of the playoff will qualify to the World Cup.



Competition Format: The eight participating teams will be sorted into two groups of four for the Group Stage. After round-robin play, the two group winners, plus the two second-place finishers will advance to the semifinals. The semifinal winners will automatically qualify to the championship final and the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The semifinal losers will dispute the tournament’s third place match for the last direct available ticket to the World Cup.