Gold Cup: A brief history of the most prestigious international tournament in the CONCACAF region

Unlike its counterparts in Europe and South America, the CONCACAF Gold Cup is a fairly new event, but after 24 years and 12 editions, the tournament has already created many lasting memories for fans of national teams across North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Though CONCACAF had organized international tournaments in the past, which from 1973-1989 also doubled as World Cup qualifying, the Gold Cup itself was created in 1990 and first played in the United States in 1991, giving the regional championship a fresh new look and a trophy.

The USA won that inaugural tournament, but it would be 11 more years, and six after the start of MLS, that they would lift the trophy again. Unsurprisingly, Mexico were the primary protagonists in the early tournaments, winning three in a row from 1993-98 before Canada broke that streak with a shock victory over Colombia in the 2000 final.

If the 90s were mostly Mexico’s decade, the US had their way throughout much of the 2000s. Mexico did claim the trophy in 2003 and 2009, but triumphs in 2002, 2005 and 2007 for the US cemented the Americans' place as one of the region’s two premier teams and a true competitor on the international stage.

But then Mexico won in 2011 and the US in 2013, keeping El Tri one title ahead of the US heading into the 2015 tournament and adding even more intrigue to the proceedings.

Outside of that top-tier duo, Canada remain the only country to have taken home the Gold Cup, but that does not mean that the rest of the teams are necessarily there just to make up the numbers. 

Among the Central American squads, Panama have cemented their status as a contender with narrow final defeats to the US in both 2005 and 2013. Honduras are also regular participants in the final four, though Costa Rica have somewhat surprisingly struggled, despite their World Cup achievements, and have made just one final appearance (2002).

Things have traditionally been a little less rosy for the Caribbean participants in the competition, as only three teams from the region have made the final four in the 24-year history of the tournament – Jamaica in 1993 and 1998, and Guadeloupe in 2007.

From 1996-2005, guest teams were invited to fill out the tournament field, but since 2007, the tournament has included only CONCACAF members. A complete list of winners follows below: