CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez rejected an invitation to take part in a proposed intercontinental tournament hosted and financed by U.S. Soccer in the summer of '20, saying that the governing body "preferred to maintain the primacy of its own continental championship, the Copa América," according to Andrew Das of the N.Y. TIMES. Earlier this week, U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro "made the offer for a combined tournament featuring South America’s 10 teams and six from the region comprising North and Central America and the Caribbean." U.S. Soccer’s offer would have been "worth tens of millions of dollars for the South American teams, their regional rivals who took part, and the two confederations governing soccer in the Americas." However, in a letter to Cordeiro, Dominguez categorically "rejected the invitation" to a proposed Continental Cup in '20. Dominguez’ letter cited a "lack of FIFA approval for the new event, but also a preference to prioritize the Copa América, which is the oldest international soccer championship in the world." If the offer to CONMEBOL is not revived, U.S. Soccer is "expected to press ahead with plans for a scaled-down tournament featuring national teams from other continents, potentially including Africa and Asia" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/1).
