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Report: U.S. Soccer invites South American nations to new 2020 tournament

Scott Halleran / Getty Images Sport / Getty

U.S. Soccer reportedly wants to create a new intercontinental tournament for the summer of 2020, and has invited South America's 10 football federations to participate in the competition.

The prospective tournament would take place in the United States and would run concurrently with the European Championship in June and July, according to Andrew Das of The New York Times. ​​​

U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro extended the invitation to the CONMEBOL nations in a letter Tuesday, according to Das, who notes the offer includes "almost $200 million in guarantees to the invited teams and governing bodies." The champions could reportedly pocket over $11 million.

A meeting to discuss the proposal is scheduled for next week in Miami.

The proposed tournament is not intended to replace either the Copa America or Gold Cup, Das added. CONCACAF echoed that sentiment in a brief statement, but did not provide any other details, only saying it had received Cordeiro's letter.

Officials from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL - the governing bodies representing North and Central America, the Caribbean, and South America - have held discussions about a potential intercontinental competition in the past, but have been unable to reach an agreement.

The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) is now proposing an enticing compensation package to bridge that gap.

According to Das, the structure of the 16-team tournament would resemble that of the 2016 Copa America Centenario. That competition, also staged in the U.S., was an expanded version of South America's marquee international event, and celebrated the tournament's 100th anniversary.

It pitted the customary 10 CONMEBOL sides against six CONCACAF nations and concluded in East Rutherford, N.J., where Chile beat Argentina in the final on penalties.

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