Copa América Femenina Colombia 2022: this is how the groups of the competition were formed

This Thursday, April 7, the draw for the group stage of the Copa América Femenina Colombia 2022 was held at the headquarters of Conmebol in the city of Asunción, Paraguay. This tournament of national teams gives three direct spots to the Women's World Cup to be played in New Zealand and Australia in 2023. There will also be two teams (fourth and fifth of the final phase) that qualify for the repechage.

The preliminary phase is made up of 10 teams that were drawn into two groups of five teams each. In Group A, Colombia will be the top seed as the host country, the teams that complete the group are: Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay and Bolivia. In Group B it will be Brazil as the current champion team and will be accompanied by: Peru, Venezuela, Argentina and Uruguay.

In the group stage, the teams will face a single match and the opening match will be between the hosts, Colombia vs. Paraguay. Already in the final phase of the Copa América Femenina Colombia 2022, the three best teams will qualify who will be measured in a Todas format and the team that scores the most points in the standings will lift the trophy that defines them as champions.

Another of the places awarded by this championship in its final phase will be the women's football tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, this will be for the champions; the runners-up will go to the repechage. While from third to fifth place will have a place at the Pan American Games in 2023, they will be hosted by Chile for which this country's national team has direct quota. In the event that this selection ends up in any of the positions listed, the quota will be given to the next team in the standings.

One of the aspects to keep in mind is that the event will be held after 4 years of the last edition and from 2022 it will be held every 2 years. In addition, there will be an increase in cash prizes, for the champions it will be $1,500,000 and for the runners-up $500,000. For Conmebol president Alejandro Domínguez, this represents progress and sets a tone towards the new future of continental women's football.

Of eight editions of the Copa América Femenina, Brazil has been crowned champion in seven (1991, 1995, 1998, 2003, 2010, 2014 and 2018), while Argentina in one (2006). The last tournament, in which the host was runner-up, was in Chile.

Last Thursday, March 10, the Colombian Football Federation announced the cities that will host the tournament. They will be Cali (Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium), Bucaramanga (Alfonso López Stadium) and Armenia (Centenario Stadium).

As confirmed in the draw, the cities where the group stage will be played will be Cali and Armenia, while the final phase and where the grand final of the tournament will be played will be the city of Bucaramanga.

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