Rio Tinto Stadium (pictured) in Sandy, Utah, USA, will host the semifinals, match for third place and final of the 2015 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship. (Photo: Mexsport)
MIAMI -- CONCACAF revealed Thursday the four U.S. cities that will host the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship 2015, scheduled for October 1-13 of this year.
Denver, Kansas City and Los Angeles will serve as hosts for group stage matches, while Salt Lake City will be the site of the decisive semifinals, as well as the Final and Third-Place Match on October 13.
Eight qualified nations will be divided into two groups of four for the Championship. Tournament host United States will be seeded in Group A, which kicks off at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas, on October 1. Defending CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Mexico will head Group B, set to begin play the next day at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Host USA, along with North American automatic qualifiers Canada and Mexico, will be joined by three nations from the Central America and two from the Caribbean, with qualifying competitions in those regions scheduled to be played in August.
Kansas City and Los Angeles will also stage the second round of group matches on October 3 and 4, while Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, hosts all eight qualified teams for group stage Match Day 3 on October 6 and 7.
The top two finishers in each group after round-robin play advance to the semifinals. The two finalists qualify directly to the Olympic Football Tournament Rio de Janeiro 2016, with the winner of the third place match earning the right to face South American Olympic qualifying runner-up Colombia in a playoff for an additional spot.
The draw for the tournament is scheduled for mid-August, and will set the complete tournament schedule and kick-off times. Ticket information will also be made available at a later date.
CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship 2015
October 1 - Group A MD 1 - Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kansas
October 2 - Group B MD 1 - StubHub Center, Carson, California
October 3 - Group A MD 2 - Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kansas
October 4 - Group B MD 2 - StubHub Center, Carson, California
October 6 - Group A MD 3 - Dick’s Sorting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colorado
October 7 - Group B MD 3 - Dick’s Sorting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colorado
October 10 - Semifinals - Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
October 13 - 3rd place and Final - Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
