The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and FOX Sports announced today a new four-year broadcast partnership for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. FOX Sports acquired exclusive English-language rights in the United States for the 2017 and 2019 Gold Cups, the Confederation’s flagship national team event, which crowns the champion of North America, Central America and the Caribbean, and books the CONCACAF spot in the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup.
The deal continues an ongoing partnership between CONCACAF and FOX, a U.S. market leader in English-language domestic and international soccer broadcast. FOX Sports televised the 2013 and 2015 Gold Cups, at the time setting viewership records for FOX Soccer and FS1, respectively.
“As the Gold Cup continues to attract record-breaking interest in stadiums and across media platforms, we’re excited to extend our relationship with FOX, a strategic partner in the exceptional growth of this event,” said Philippe Moggio, CONCACAF General Secretary. “FOX’s world-class broadcasts will continue to deliver our fans all of the action of our biggest national teams competitions, starting with next summer’s Gold Cup.”
The Gold Cup features 12 teams from around the CONCACAF region, including the United States and Mexico, winners of the 2013 and 2015 editions, respectively.
Gold Cup results determine the region’s representative in the FIFA Confederations Cup, played every four years. With the deal, FOX also acquired broadcast rights for the next CONCACAF Cup, a play-in match which will determine the right to participate in the 2021 Confederations Cup, should two different champions be crowned in the next two editions (2017 and 2019) of the Gold Cup.
“The CONCACAF Gold Cup is the crown jewel of national team soccer competitions in North America. By extending our partnership with CONCACAF through the 2019 tournament not only will we extend our coverage of the US and Mexican Men’s National Teams, but further, we’ll be able to tie that narrative to the team that represents CONCACAF in the 2021 FIFA Confederation Cup also airing on FOX Sports,” said David Nathanson, Head of Business Operations, FOX Sports.
The 2017 Gold Cup will be played in July of next year. Exact dates, host cities and seeding procedure will be announced in coming months.
