The Lady Jaguars are scheduled to compete in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup Qualifiers after the local confederation announced the details yesterday for the inaugural 2023 Road to the W Gold Cup.
This was confirmed by an official release from CONCACAF. The Guyanese have been placed in Pot 1 of League B which features 12 teams ranked from 11th- 21st in the region.
Pot 1 comprises Guyana, El Salvador, and Dominican Republic, whilst Pot 2 contains Bermuda, Nicaragua, and Antigua and Barbuda. Pot 3 features Honduras, Suriname, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, while Martinique, Barbados, and Dominica make up Pot 4.
Meanwhile, League A will comprise the nine highest ranked teams in the region. They are Canada or Jamaica [following the conclusion of the Olympic Playoff], Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and St Kitts & Nevis. The teams will be divided into three groups of three.
On the other hand, League C will feature the 12 lowest ranked teams. They are: the United States Virgin Islands, Belize, Curaçao, Cayman Islands, Aruba, Grenada, Anguilla, Turks & Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Bahamas, and St Maarten. The teams will be allocated into three groups of four teams.
The qualifying tournament will occur during the FIFA Women’s International Window in September, October and November of this year.
After home and away group stage matches within each league, the respective winner of each League A section (three teams) will qualify for the 2024 W Gold Cup Group Stage. The second-place finishers in each of the League A groups (three teams) and the winner of each League B pool (three teams) will progress to the preliminary stage of the 2024 W Gold Cup (six teams in total).
The draw for each league will occur on May 17th. The inaugural W Gold Cup will occur from February 17th – March 10th, 2024 in the United States.
According to CONCACAF, the two teams that will contest the 2024 Olympic Games Football Tournament, the United States and either Jamaica or Canada, will not have to play in the W Gold Cup qualifiers. The W Gold Cup Qualifiers will commence after the conclusion of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
