Copa America 2016 Awarded To U.S., Biggest Soccer Tournament Hosted Here Since 1994 World Cup

Eugenio Figueredo, right, president of CONMEBOL, the South American Football Confederation, gestures as he talks during a news conference as CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb, left, looks on in Bal Harbour, Fla., Thursday, May 1, 2014. The United States will host the Copa America soccer tournament for the first time in 2016. The Copa America, the world's oldest intercontinental soccer tournament, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2016. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) – The United States will host the Copa America soccer tournament for the first time in 2016.

The 16-nation tournament will run June 3-26. U.S. cities will bid to host games.

Thursday's announcement was made by CONMEBOL, the governing body of South American soccer, and CONCACAF, the governing body of soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Possible host sites include the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.; Sun Life Stadium in Miami; and MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

The U.S. and Mexico, the two biggest powers in CONCACAF, will take part along with all 10 teams from South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The other four squads will be from CONCACAF, and they will be determined based on World Cup qualifying standings and playoffs.

It's the biggest men's soccer tournament in the U.S. since the 1994 World Cup.

The Copa America is the world's oldest intercontinental tournament. And 2016 will mark the 100th anniversary of the first Copa America, which was held in Argentina.

This will be a special edition of the Copa America, which is normally held every four years and is still scheduled for 2015 in Chile and 2019 in Brazil.

CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb said at a news conference that bringing the two organizations together to make this deal wasn't easy.

"This was two years in the making," Webb said. "Now I know why it took 100 years."

The timing of the 2016 Copa America could create scheduling conflicts with World Cup qualifying matches and Major League Soccer games. The 2016 Summer Olympics, which includes soccer, will be held Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"The Olympics are in August," Webb said. "I don't see a conflict."