CONCACAF

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( KONG-kə-kaf; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 41 member associations represent countries and territories mainly in North America, including the Caribbean and Central America, and, for cultural and historical reasons, three nations from the Guianas subregion of South America: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana (an overseas region of France). CONCACAF's primary functions are to organize competitions for national teams and clubs, and to conduct the World Cup and Women's World Cup qualifying tournaments. CONCACAF was founded in its current form on September 18, 1961, in Mexico City, Mexico, with the merger of the NAFC and the CCCF, which made it one of the then five, now six, continental confederations affiliated with FIFA. Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao, Aruba), Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname and the United States were founding members. Mexico dominated CONCACAF men's competitions early on and has won the most Gold Cups. The Mexico national team is the only men's CONCACAF team to win an official FIFA tournament by winning the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup. Mexico and the U.S. have won all but one of the editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. As of 2026, twelve CONCACAF countries have participated in the World Cup and four have advanced to at least the quarterfinals. The CONCACAF Nations League was established in 2018, with the United States winning the most editions with three. The United States has been the most successful team in the world in the women's game, being the only CONCACAF member to win all three major worldwide competitions in women's football—the World Cup (4), the Olympics (5), and the Algarve Cup (10). Canada...