CONCACAF Gold Cup facts for kids
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| Organizing body | CONCACAF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1991 |
| Region | North America Central America Caribbean |
| Number of teams | 16 41 (qualifiers) |
| Related competitions | CONCACAF Championship |
| Current champion(s) |  Mexico(10th title) |
| Most successful team(s) | Mexico (10 titles) |
The CONCACAF Gold Cup is a big soccer tournament. It's for men's national teams. These teams come from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. CONCACAF organizes this exciting event. It happens every two years. The first Gold Cup was in 1991. Before that, there was a similar tournament called the CONCACAF Championship. Only three countries have won the Gold Cup so far: Canada, Mexico, and the United States. These teams are all part of the North American Football Union.
Contents
The History of the Gold Cup
Older Tournaments
Before the CONCACAF Gold Cup, there were other soccer tournaments. These were for teams in North and Central America. Two main groups organized these games. One was the CCCF, started in 1938. It covered Central America and the Caribbean. The other was the NAFC, started in 1946. It was for North American teams. Each group had its own championship. The CCCF Championship happened 10 times. Costa Rica won it seven times. The NAFC Championship happened twice. Mexico won both of those.
The CONCACAF Championship
In 1961, the NAFC and CCCF joined together. They formed CONCACAF. This new group started one big tournament. It was called the CONCACAF Championship. The first one was in 1963 in El Salvador. Costa Rica won that first championship. This tournament happened every two years. It was played from 1963 to 1989. Sometimes, winning this tournament also meant a spot in the FIFA World Cup. This made the games even more exciting!
The Gold Cup Begins
In 1990, the tournament changed its name. It became the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The United States hosted the first one in 1991. They have hosted or co-hosted every tournament since. The USA won that first Gold Cup. Mexico then won three times in a row. This was in 1993, 1996, and 1998.
Sometimes, teams from other parts of the world were invited. Brazil was the first guest team in 1996. They were the FIFA World Cup champions. Guest teams played in the Gold Cup until 2005. After that, only CONCACAF teams competed.
The number of teams grew over time. It went from 8 to 12 teams. In 2017, it expanded again to 16 teams. This started with the 2019 tournament. Sometimes, more than one country hosts the games. Costa Rica and Jamaica helped host in 2019.
Mexico has won the Gold Cup 10 times. The United States has won it 7 times. Canada has won it once. These three teams are the main champions.
How the Tournament Works
The Gold Cup has grown over the years. More and more teams now play in it. The tournament starts with a group stage. Teams play against others in their group. Then, the best teams move to a knockout stage. This means if you lose, you are out!
For the 2025 Gold Cup, there's a new rule. If a game is a draw, it goes straight to a penalty shootout. This happens in all games except the final. Some people think the tournament should happen every four years. This could make it even more special. It might also help players rest more.
| Year | Teams | Matches | Group stage | Final stages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–1993 | 8 | 16 | 2 groups of 4 teams | 4-team knockout (group winners and runners-up) |
| 1996 | 9 | 13 | 3 groups of 3 teams | 4-team knockout (group winners plus best runner-up) |
| 1998 | 10 | 16 | 3 groups of 3 or 4 teams | |
| 2000 | 12 | 19 | 4 groups of 3 teams | 8-team knockout (group winners and runners-up) |
| 2002–2003 | 20 | |||
| 2005–2013 | 25 | 3 groups of 4 teams | 8-team knockout (group winners and runners-up, plus 2 best 3rd-placed teams) |
|
| 2015 | 26 | |||
| 2017 | 25 | |||
| 2019–present | 16 | 31 | 4 groups of 4 teams | 8-team knockout (group winners and runners-up) |
Past Winners
This section shows who won the Gold Cup each year. It also shows the runners-up.
- a.e.t. means the game went into extra time.
- g.g. means a golden goal was scored.
- p means the winner was decided by a penalty shootout.
- Notes
Team Achievements
This table shows how well each team has done. It lists their wins, runner-up finishes, and other top spots.
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Semi-finalist | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico |
10 (1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023, 2025) |
2 (2007, 2021) |
1 (1991) |
N/A | 2 (2013, 2017) |
15 |
 United States |
7 (1991, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2017, 2021) |
6 (1993, 1998, 2009, 2011, 2019, 2025) |
2 (1996, 2003) |
1 (2015) |
1 (2023) |
17 |
 Canada |
1 (2000) |
N/A | 1 (2002) |
N/A | 2 (2007, 2021) |
4 |
 Panama |
N/A | 3 (2005, 2013, 2023) |
1 (2015) |
N/A | 1 (2011) |
5 |
 Jamaica |
N/A | 2 (2015, 2017) |
1 (1993) |
1 (1998) |
2 (2019, 2023) |
6 |
 Brazil |
N/A | 2 (1996, 2003) |
1 (1998) |
N/A | N/A | 3 |
 Costa Rica |
N/A | 1 (2002) |
1 (1993) |
2 (1991, 2003) |
2 (2009, 2017) |
6 |
 Honduras |
N/A | 1 (1991) |
N/A | N/A | 5 (2005, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2025) |
6 |
 Colombia |
N/A | 1 (2000) |
N/A | N/A | 1 (2005) |
2 |
 Guatemala |
N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 (1996) |
1 (2025) |
2 |
 South Korea |
N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 (2002) |
N/A | 1 |
 Guadeloupe |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 (2007) |
1 |
 Haiti |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 (2019) |
1 |
 Peru |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 (2000) |
1 |
 Qatar |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 (2021) |
1 |
 Trinidad and Tobago |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 (2000) |
1 |
New Teams Joining
A total of 33 teams have played in the Gold Cup. Some teams are not part of CONCACAF. These are called guest teams. They are shown in italic in the table.
| Year | Debuting teams | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | No. | CT | |
| 1991 | Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala,  Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, United States |
8 | 8 |
| 1993 |  Martinique, Panama |
2 | 10 |
| 1996 | Brazil,  El Salvador,  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
3 | 13 |
| 1998 |  Cuba |
1 | 14 |
| 2000 | Colombia, Haiti, Peru, South Korea |
4 | 18 |
| 2002 |  Ecuador |
1 | 19 |
| 2003 | None | 0 | 19 |
| 2005 |  South Africa |
1 | 20 |
| 2007 | Guadeloupe |
1 | 21 |
| 2009 |  Grenada,  Nicaragua |
2 | 23 |
| 2011 | None | 0 | 23 |
| 2013 |  Belize |
1 | 24 |
| 2015 | None | 0 | 24 |
| 2017 |  Curaçao,  French Guiana |
2 | 26 |
| 2019 |  Bermuda,  Guyana |
2 | 28 |
| 2021 |  Suriname, Qatar |
2 | 30 |
| 2023 |  Saint Kitts and Nevis |
1 | 31 |
| 2025 |  Dominican Republic,  Saudi Arabia |
2 | 33 |
Tournament Records
You can find more detailed records and statistics about the Gold Cup here: CONCACAF Gold Cup records and statistics.
Gold Cup Winners in Other Tournaments
Sometimes, winning the Gold Cup helped teams qualify for another big tournament. This was the FIFA Confederations Cup. It brought together champions from different parts of the world. This table shows how Gold Cup winners did there.
| Qualified via | Year | Team | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 Gold Cup | 1992 | United States |
Third place |
| 1993 Gold Cup | 1995 | Mexico |
Third place |
| 1996 Gold Cup | 1997 | Mexico |
Group stage (3rd) |
| 1998 Gold Cup (1st) | 1999 | Mexico |
Champions |
| 1998 Gold Cup (2nd) | United States |
Third place | |
| 2000 Gold Cup | 2001 | Canada |
Group stage (4th) |
| 2002 Gold Cup | 2003 | United States |
Group stage (4th) |
| 2003 Gold Cup | 2005 | Mexico |
Fourth place |
| 2007 Gold Cup | 2009 | United States |
Runners up |
| 2011 Gold Cup | 2013 | Mexico |
Group stage (3rd) |
| 2013 Gold Cup | 2017 | United States |
DNQ |
| 2015 Gold Cup | Mexico |
Fourth place |
Special Awards
After the tournament, special awards are given out. These awards celebrate amazing players and teams.
- Best Player: This award goes to the top player. They showed great skill throughout the tournament.
- Top Scorer: This is for the player who scored the most goals.
- Best Goalkeeper: This award honors the best goalie. They made amazing saves.
- Fair Play Award: This award goes to the team. It's for the team that played most fairly.
- Young Player Award: This is for the best young player. They showed great promise.
Guest Teams
Sometimes, teams from outside CONCACAF are invited. These are called guest teams. Brazil was the first guest team in 1996. They came from South America. Brazil even finished second that year!
For a while, CONCACAF stopped inviting guests. This was to give more chances to teams from the region. But in 2021, Qatar was invited. They played well and reached the semi-finals. Qatar also played in the 2023 Gold Cup.
Guest Nations Record
| Team | Confederation | 1996 | 1998 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2005 | 2021 | 2023 | 2025 | Editions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil |
CONMEBOL | 2nd | 3rd | – | – | 2nd | – | – | – | – | 3 |
| Colombia |
CONMEBOL | – | – | 2nd | – | QF | SF | – | – | – | 3 |
| Peru |
CONMEBOL | – | – | SF | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| South Korea |
AFC | – | – | GS | 4th | – | – | – | – | – | 2 |
| Ecuador |
CONMEBOL | – | – | – | GS | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| South Africa |
CAF | – | – | – | – | – | QF | – | – | – | 1 |
| Qatar |
AFC | – | – | – | – | – | – | SF | QF | – | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia |
AFC | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | QF | 1 |
Watching the Games and the Trophy
You can watch the Gold Cup games in many places. In Canada, you can watch on OneSoccer, TSN, and RDS. In Mexico, Televisa and TV Azteca show the games. In the United States, Fox Sports and TUDN broadcast them. Sometimes, CONCACAF also streams games on YouTube.
The winning team gets the beautiful Gold Cup trophy. The trophy's design has changed a few times. It has a special base. This base shows the names of all the winning countries and the years they won.
See also
In Spanish: Copa Oro de la Concacaf para niños
- Continental football championships
- CCCF Championship (1941–1961)
- North American Nations Cup (1947, 1949, 1990, 1991)
- CONCACAF Nations League
