How often is the CONCACAF Gold Cup played?

CONCACAF Gold Cup a biennial tournament

Since taking over from its predecessor, the CONCACAF Championship, the CONCACAF Gold Cup has been played every two years, with two exceptions.

The Gold Cup, which determines the champion of the North American, Central American and Caribbean region, began in 1991, with every edition so far held either partially or exclusively in the United States.

Mexico are the competition’s most successful team, having been CONCACAF champions eight times in the Gold Cup era. El Tri also won three CONCACAF Championships.

Gold Cup changed from summer to winter, then back again

Having been played as a summer tournament in 1991 and 1993, the Gold Cup was not held for a third time until January 1996, following the decision to move the event to the winter.

It then took place in January/February in 1998, 2000 and 2002, before being restored to its previous summer slot, a change that meant there was only an 18-month wait for the following edition, in July 2003. The Gold Cup has been staged every other summer since then.

Gold Cup: tournaments so far

The 2021 Gold Cup, the 16th edition of the tournament, gets underway on Wednesday and is to be held entirely in the US. The final is scheduled for 1 August at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas.

2021 Gold Cup: find out more