FirstEnergy Stadium, home of the Cleveland Browns, will host the United States Men's National Team and three additional countries' squads during the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup on Saturday, June 22, as announced today by the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf).
The United States, one of four seeded nations in the tournament (Costa Rica, Honduras and Mexico), will play a to be determined member of Group D in one match at FirstEnergy Stadium, while the other two teams within Group D will compete to complete the day's doubleheader. The games in Cleveland will be each team's second contest of group play.
The comprehensive Gold Cup schedule and tournament table will be announced early next year once all nations have qualified. Fans can visitwww.GoldCup.org to sign up for an exclusive ticket presale offering for 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup matches prior to the official public release on October 23 at 10 a.m. local time for each venue.
The international men's soccer tournament returns to Northeast Ohio after Cleveland hosted a doubleheader featuring the U.S. Men's National Team, Martinique, Nicaragua and Panama during the final leg of Group B play in 2017.
Through the partnership of the Browns, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and City of Cleveland, Cleveland is one of 15 U.S.-based venues serving as a host site for the 15th edition of the Concacaf Gold Cup.
On June 12, the U.S. Women's National Team faced China in a friendly match at FirstEnergy Stadium and earned a 2-1 win. The USWNT also played in Downtown Cleveland during a rematch of the 2015 Women's World Cup final and claimed a 2-0 victory against Japan in the second leg of a two-game friendly between the teams.
Prior to the 2017 Concacaf Gold Cup, FirstEnergy Stadium also welcomed the U.S. Men's National Team in 2013 for a game against Belgium, the first international soccer game at the stadium since 2006.
Occurring every two years, the Concacaf Gold Cup is the official national team championship of the region, which includes North and Central America and the Caribbean. Drawing large crowds and millions of television viewers across the region, the Gold Cup is a celebration of soccer, sportsmanship, and culture.
In 2015, the Browns, with the City of Cleveland's support, completed a two-year modernization project of FirstEnergy Stadium that began in 2013 to provide the team and its fans a top-tier facility for NFL games, as well as major events and concerts. This past summer, the stadium hostedTaylor Swift's reputation stadium tour on July 17 and the JAY-Z and Beyoncé OTR II stadium tour on July 25.
More information about FirstEnergy Stadium is available on pages 448-450 of the 2018 Cleveland Browns Media Guide.
For more information on the tournament and host venues, visit www.GoldCup.org.
About the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
Since 2000, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission (GCSC) is responsible for attracting more than 190 sporting events which provide nearly $570 million in economic activity to Northeast Ohio. GCSC supports the local economy, utilizes sports as a vehicle to forward community agendas and maintains a goal of producing events that are more successful when held in Cleveland than in other cities. For more information, visitclevelandsports.org.
