NEW YORK – CONCACAF announced Thursday that its Under-20 Women’s Championship will be played in Panama from March 1-11, while its Under-17 Women’s Championship will take place in Guatemala from May 2-13.
The eight-team U-20 tournament will be played at Panama City’s Estadio Rommel Fernandez, site of the 2011 Copa Centroamericana and many Champions League matches, and the Estadio Agustín «Muquita» Sánchez in La Chorrera, home to numerous CONCACAF Champions League encounters. Three teams will qualify for the 2012 Women’s U-20 World Cup in Uzbekistan.
In addition to host Panama, Canada, Mexico, the United States, Guatemala and three Caribbean teams will participate in the Under-20 tournament.
The three Caribbean teams will be decided in the Final Stage of Caribbean qualifiers at the beginning of next year. The Dominican Republic will host the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Haiti in Group E from January 6 to 10, while Group F will feature host Cuba, Guyana, Puerto Rico and Trinidad & Tobago from January 7 to 11. The group winners and the best second-place team amongst the two groups will advance to the finals in Panama.
The Under-17 tournament will be played exclusively at Guatemala City’s Estadio Cementos Progreso, site of the most recent CONCACAF Under-20 Men’s and Women’s tournaments and the venue for Comunicaciones’ home Champions League games. The finalists and third-place match winner will qualify for the 2012 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan.
Guatemala, Canada, Mexico , the United States, three teams from the Caribbean and another from Central America will participate in the competition. The Central American qualifier will be decided on December 11 between El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. The Caribbean finalists will be determined when the Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago face off in Kingston, Jamaica from November 29 to December 3.
Further details about both tournaments will be provided in the coming weeks.
