Should the United States Be Hosting Any Tournament Right Now?
The political spectacle of international soccer is being derailed in the United States by... politics.
Over the course of the weekend, it became increasingly clear that Cuba were not going to get a chance to compete in the 2021 Gold Cup, hosted in the United States as it has been since… basically always. There have been joint hosts of the tournament, but the United States has always been at least one of the hosts since we even started calling this tournament “the Gold Cup.” The last time the CONCACAF Championship was hosted in one country and it was not the United States was 1981, when it took place in Honduras. The reasons for choosing the United States, over and over again, are pretty clear: lots of big stadiums and chances for ad revenue means lots of money for CONCACAF. Theoretically, there are also a lot of accommodations and space for traveling international sides to do the necessary training work, but that’s probably not as important as the money.
Cuba were supposed to take part in the play-in tournament, also held in the United States. They did not, mired in Nicaragua with visa issues for many of their players.
We don’t know exactly what logistical problems held Cuba in limbo for so long, but chances are pretty good that it has to do with the U.S. State Department and the decades-long embargo against Cuba that the U.N. has called on the U.S. to end for 29 years in a row. No, seriously. They’ve said it every year for 29 years.
Another reason to think it’s probably the United States not being able to guarantee all players will be able to travel to the United States was the fact that it wasn’t just Cuba that had visa issues, although they seemed to be the hardest-hit. Jon Arnold points out that St. Vincent and the Grenadines didn’t have a goalkeeper thanks to visa trouble, and had to start a defender there in their 6-1 loss to Haiti.
It’s a catastrophic failure by CONCACAF and the United States as hosts of an international tournament that they cannot guarantee the entry of a team’s players into the country where they must play the tournament. That would be true if it was simply one player forced to miss a match. We’re missing an entire team. And yes, this is CONCACAF, which remains a soccer territory on the outskirts, where stuff like this just happens. But if one of the whole points of hosting a tournament in the United States is specifically so that logistical nightmares like this do not happen, then what, exactly, are we doing here? Should the United States be hosting any type of international tournament at all, if they can’t guarantee the actual contestants will get to compete?
I suspect that most of this won’t garner much attention, because it’s Cuba and not someone like Costa Rica or Mexico. But if CONCACAF wants to be taken seriously on the international level, this simply just cannot happen. It doesn’t matter how small the team is. If the confederation and the host can’t guarantee that everyone will get to compete when they’re supposed to compete, then what’s the point of holding the tournament at all?
Stream Schedule
Multiple shows and watch parties this year as the Euros and Copa America come to a conclusion. And most importantly, we’re live RIGHT NOW.
Nailed It
Don’t be dumb!
Chris Armas Blew It (with like two tons of explosives)
Rarely have I seen a match played where the head coach was so clearly getting fired as soon as he finished doing the post-game press conference.
Armas never got to play a match in Toronto thanks to Covid restrictions, and TFC were as hurt as ever during his tenure, but this sure does look like a team that’s basically given up on their coach to me. We’ll let you know when Armas is inevitably hired to take over a U.S. youth team.
The Toll
I don’t think we’ll see the full price the players have paid after playing essentially a year and a half without ceasing, and only getting a couple weeks of off-season for those still competing in the Euros and Copa America, for another couple months. Team medical staffs are going to have their hands full this Autumn.
A New Beginning, MLS-Style
This is the Goal of the Day because, seriously, look at this thing.
Andrew Farrell accidentally heads the ball on goal, then appears to also accidentally block Matt Turner’s attempted goal line clearance into his own net, as Gyasi Zardes puts pressure on both of them to make a mistake. Probably not exactly how Columbus wanted to open up their new stadium, but they’ll take it.
And by the way, it was truly an impressive display put on by Columbus. Here’s hoping for many more excellent home matches in their new home, and while you’re here, check out this nice little video put together by DJ Axcess covering the pre-game festivities. Hard to feel like there isn’t a bit of a rebirth happening in Ohio.