Football
Tom Marshall, Mexico correspondent 5y

2021 Gold Cup to be mainly in U.S., feature VAR

CHICAGO -- The next edition of the Gold Cup will have VAR and will be played mainly in the United States, confirmed CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani.

Not including VAR for the tournament, which culminates with a Mexico vs. United States final on Sunday, has been criticized by both U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter and Mexico manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino.

"We took the decision not to use it because of the lack of training, because VAR isn't just watching on TV, it's educating the officials," explained Montagliani inside Soldier Field on Saturday, talking in Spanish. "We only have two leagues [in CONCACAF] that have [VAR], which are the Liga MX and MLS, but for the next Gold Cup we'll have it. It's not easy, it's complicated and that's why we decided that we weren't ready."

Montagliani confirmed that the 2021 edition of the Gold Cup is likely to be held in the United States, although he opened the door to other countries hosting games in the next tournament.

"There were games in Costa Rica and others in Jamaica [this Gold Cup] and they were successful," said Montagliani. "There's a possibility of some games outside [of the United States], we want to open the possibility of other countries having games, if Mexico or Canada or the Caribbean wants them. We have a process; if another country wants to host, it's a process."

The CONCACAF president also said that a potential joint tournament with CONMEBOL along the lines of the 2016 Copa America Centenario is not likely in the short term, but didn't rule it out future down the line.

Montagliani also reiterated that the scheduling of the Gold Cup final on the same day as the Women's World Cup final, as well as the Copa America final, was a mistake.

"I've been very clear, it's something that shouldn't happen in the future, and it won't happen in the future," he said.

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