The CONCACAF Gold Cup will be expanded to 16 teams starting with its next edition in 2019.

The confederation also revealed that it is “exploring a pan-regional footprint” for next year’s event, meaning that matches could be played in Central America and the Caribbean, which in CONCACAF’s words would “fulfill a long-term aspiration” for member nations in those regions.

The qualifying process for the expanded Gold Cup will be revealed at the upcoming CONCACAF Nations League launch event on March 7 in Miami Beach, Florida, while the process and criteria for host sites will be outlined by CONCACAF “in the coming months.”

“The expansion of the Gold Cup and the upcoming launch of the CONCACAF Nations League are key steps in delivering on the ONE CONCACAF Vision, to make the region’s most competitive football more accessible to more of our confederation’s teams, players and fans,” said CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani in a press release.

“By widening access to these important tournaments for more of our member associations, we work towards our goal of ensuring that the football produced in the CONCACAF region is of the highest quality in the world.”

Since the Gold Cup’s inception in 1992, the vast majority of matches have been played in the United States apart from games held in Mexico in 1993 and 2003 and in Canada in 2015.

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz have made it to consecutive finals in 2015 and 2017 where they lost to Mexico and the United States.