The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup will be played in a record 13 different U.S. cities including Seattle on July 4th. The tournament will use the same format as in 2005 and 2007, with the 12-team field divided into three, four-team groups. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place teams.
 
 The three first-round groups for the qualifiers: Canada, Mexico and the USA from the North Zone; Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua from Central America; and Jamaica, Grenada, Guadeloupe and Haiti from the Caribbean..