U.S. Soccer and the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today that LIVESTRONG Sporting Park will host the 2012 Men’s Olympic qualifying tournament semifinals and final. The eight-nation tournament begins March 22, 2012 and will arrive in Kansas City with the decisive semifinals on March 31st before concluding with the championship match on April 2nd.
The winners of each semifinal match at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park on March 31st will advance to the 2012 Olympic Games in London next summer to represent CONCACAF and will meet in the championship match on April 2nd at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park.
Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members will have access to an exclusive pre-sale once tickets are made available for the matches.
The tournament will mark the second international competition held at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park since its opening in June, after the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup hosted a doubleheader featuring the United States Men’s National Team. The state-of-the-art, $200+ million venue also welcomed the U.S. Women’s National Team for their first match since the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in an international friendly against Canada.
The 2012 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament consists of two four-team groups, with the top two finishers from each group advancing to the semifinals. Group play is scheduled from March 22-27 and will be held at two sites: LP Field in Nashville and The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
The competition consists of the Under-23 Men’s National Teams from eight countries, currently consisting of the USA, Mexico, Canada, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and two undetermined teams from the Caribbean.
The United States Under-23 Men’s National Team is currently conducting a training camp in Duisburg, Germany. The 36-player camp includes Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jon Kempin and runs until Nov. 16th. Sporting Kansas City striker Teal Bunbury was invited to the training camp but is recovering from an ankle contusion and will not participate.
The draw for the 2012 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament will take place after completion of Caribbean qualifying on a date to be determined. Additional ticket information will also be announced at a later date.
