LOS ANGELES, USA — The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced yesterday that the Rose Bowl will host the opening doubleheader of the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday, July 7, which will feature reigning Gold Cup champions Mexico.

Tickets will be available to the general public starting on February 26 at 10:00 am by visiting Ticketmaster.com. A special pre-sale will be available for the 2013 Gold Cup opening doubleheader, starting today. In order to take advantage of the pre-sale, users should follow CONCACAF on Twitter (twitter.com/CONCACAF) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/OfficialCONCACAF). Those who tweet or post in the CONCACAF Facebook page using the hashtag #GoldCup2013 will receive via private message a Code with directions to purchase their tickets.

“We look forward to an exciting 2013 Gold Cup beginning on July 7th here at the historic Rose Bowl,” said CONCACAF President, Jeffrey Webb. “All communities will be united through regional rivalries that generate national pride filled with emotion and passion.”

The Mexican national team, under the guidance of manager Jose Manuel de la Torre, looks to defend its 2011 Gold Cup title, which el Tricolor secured that summer in front of a capacity crowd of more than 93,000 fans at the Rose Bowl.

The iconic Rose Bowl has a long history as an international soccer destination, including the site of the 1984 Olympic final, the 1994 World Cup final, the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup final, the 2002 and 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup finals, as well as being the home to Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy from 1996-2003.

It is the only stadium in the world to have hosted both a men’s and women’s World Cup final, plus an Olympic gold medal match. The venue is also home to American football’s oldest annual college New Year’s Day game, and has served five times as the site of the NFL’s Super Bowl.

Joining the Rose Bowl, the region’s premier national team tournament will again expand its footprint by visiting 12 other historic and state-of-the-art venues across the United States. The venues are: Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX, Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA; M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, MD; Soldier Field in Chicago, IL; Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, CO; Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT; BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, TX; Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL; Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ; JELD-WEN Field in Portland, OR; Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City, UT; CenturyLink Field in Seattle, WA.

With a mix of historic venues and brand new state-of-the-art soccer facilities that average 57,000 spectators, the 2013 edition of the Gold Cup promises to provide fans both in stadium and at home with unforgettable atmospheres. In 2011, the tournament drew more than 600,000 fans throughout 13 match days, including nine sell-outs.

The following 12 national teams have qualified for this year’s tournament (in alphabetical order): Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States.

Taking place every two years, the Gold Cup has established itself as the region’s most popular national team tournament, routinely drawing capacity crowds and millions of television viewers across the region. It features the confederation’s best players from the top 12 nations.

The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup groups and schedules will be announced mid-March.