CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Friday that plans to hold the Copa America Centenario in the United States during the summer of 2016 will proceed as originally planned.
The announcement concludes a tortuous process in which the holding of the tournament had been in doubt ever since 14 soccer administrators and marketing executives were arrested back in May on corruption charges.
The investigation that led to those arrests uncovered $110 million in bribes that had been paid by sports marketing company Datisa, which owned the commercial rights to the Copa America Centenario.
Sources indicated that the USSF had refused to go forward with the tournament unless complete transparency could be ensured by CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, which included the removal of Datisa from any aspect of the tournament.
One sticking point included having Datisa return the money it received for selling those rights to third parties, including Mexican multimedia company Televisa. That proved tricky, as Datisa's assets had been frozen by the Department of Justice.
Last week, CONCACAF announced that it had reacquired its marketing rights for the tournament from Datisa, thus smoothing the way for the tournament to be held.
CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, and the USSF also announced the formation of a new executive committee to govern the event. It will be comprised of five members, two from CONMEBOL, two from CONCACAF, and one from the USSF. The intent is to provide even greater financial transparency regarding funds collected for broadcasting and sponsorships.
The 16-nation tournament, to be played from June 3-26, 2016, will feature all 10 national teams from South America and six from CONCACAF, including the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica.
The areas that expressed interest to host were Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago; Cleveland; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Houston; Indianapolis; Jacksonville, Florida; Kansas City, Missouri; Los Angeles; Nashville, Tennessee; New York/New Jersey; Orlando, Florida; Philadelphia; Phoenix; St. Louis; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Tampa, Florida; and Washington, D.C.
Organizers are in the process of selecting from the list of host cities and venues. However, sources told ESPN that the final will be played at the Rose Bowl, in Pasadena, California, and one of the semifinals will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In a joint statement, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL said: "We are extremely happy for our fans, our teams and our partners, that we were able to find a way to host the Copa America Centenario celebration in the United States under an entirely new structure for managing the tournament's operations and finances. The improved governance structure will bring greater accountability and transparency to the event so it can serve its two intended purposes - to celebrate the 100 years of history of Copa America, and provide a once in a lifetime spectacle for fans in the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL regions."