Christen Press takes a shot against Costa Rica in August in last year’s victory tour. The USWNT will face Costa Ricain Olympic qualifying in February. (Photo Copyright Erica McCaulley for The Equalizer)
All 15 matches of the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament will be streamed live on NBC Sports Live Extra, in addition to up to four matches airing on NBCSN. The eight-team tournament takes place from Feb. 10-21 in Houston and Frisco, Texas, with the top two teams advancing to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The all-important semifinal featuring the United States — assuming the heavily favored U.S. women, who are three-time defending Olympic gold medalists, make the semifinal — will be aired live on NBCSN on Feb. 19. The tournament’s two semifinal winners will advance to this summer’s Olympics on NBC.
NBCSN will also air the United States’ final group-stage match against Puerto Rico on Feb. 15 live at 8:30 p.m. ET. The United States’ group-stage match against Mexico on Feb. 13 will be aired on delay at 9:30 p.m. ET, and the tournament final on Feb. 21 will air at 11 p.m. ET.
[Editor’s note: This author is an employee of NBC Sports.]
CONCACAF approached NBC about broadcasting the tournament just over two weeks before it is set to kick off. Such a quick turnaround made for extremely limited TV windows, which are scheduled months in advance.
The U.S. women will compete in Group A in Frisco, Texas, against Mexico, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. Canada — the other team favored to advance to the Olympics — will compete in Group B in Houston, Texas, against Trididad & Tobago, Guatemala and Guyana.
New Zealand qualified for the Olympics earlier this week, joining hosts Brazil and Colombia from South America, France and Germany from Europe, and South Africa and Zimbabwe from Africa. The final five spots at this summer’s Olympics will be filled by two CONCACAF teams, two teams from Asia and the winner of a four-team playoff in March between Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands to determine the final European bid.
2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship Schedule
Frisco, Texas – Toyota Stadium
Houston, Texas – BBVA Compass Stadium
Times U.S. Central (U.S. Eastern in parentheses)
FIRST ROUND
Group A: USA, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Costa Rica
Group B: Canada, Guatemala, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana
Wednesday, Feb. 10 (Frisco)
Puerto Rico vs. Mexico 5 p.m. (6 p.m.)
USA vs. Costa Rica 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m.)
Thursday, Feb. 11 (Houston)
Guatemala vs. Trinidad & Tobago 5 p.m. (6 p.m.)
Canada vs. Guyana 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m.)
Saturday, Feb. 13 (Frisco)
Costa Rica vs. Puerto Rico 12:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m.)
USA vs. Mexico 3 p.m. (4 p.m.) NBCSN at 9:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, Feb. 14 (Houston)
Guyana vs. Guatemala 12:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m.)
Trinidad vs. Canada 3 p.m. (4 p.m.)
Monday, Feb. 15 (Frisco)
Mexico vs. Costa Rica 5 p.m. (6 p.m.)
USA vs. Puerto Rico 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m.) LIVE on NBCSN
Tuesday, Feb. 16 (Houston)
Trinidad & Tobago vs. Guyana 5 p.m. (6 p.m.)
Canada vs. Guatemala 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m.)
SEMIFINALS
Friday, Feb. 19 (Houston)
Group B winner vs. Group A runner-up 4:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m.) ***
Group A winner vs. Group B runner-up 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m.) ***
FINAL
Sunday, Feb. 21 (Houston)
Semifinal winners 4 p.m. (5 p.m.) NBCSN at 11 p.m.
***USA’s semifinal, should the USA advance, will air LIVE on NBCSN
