Pan-Am Games

The Pan American Games are held every four years during the summer preceding the Olympic Games. In terms of the number of sports and athletes, the Pan American Games are second in size only to the Olympics. The men's soccer tournament has been part of every Pan American games since its inception and in 1999 women's soccer made its debut in.

An estimated 6,500 athletes in 37 different sports competed in the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada. The 2003 games were staged in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, but U.S. Soccer was unable to send a men's or women's to participate because of scheduling conflicts. In 1999, the U.S. Under-23 National Team competed in the men's tournament, while the U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team represented the U.S. in the women's competition.

In the 1999 tournament, the U.S. Men captured the second Pan Am Games Bronze Medal in their history with a 2-1 victory over Canada in the third-place match. Carlos Bocanegra and young Landon Donovan led the USA with goals in that match. The Under-23 Men, which were represented by U.S. stars from the U-23, U-20 and U-17 levels did well to rebound from a disappointing 1995 tournament by taking home the bronze.

The Women's U-18 National Team squad captured the gold medal in the first-ever Pan American Women's Final with a hard-fought 1-0 win over over an older squad. The U.S. women dominated their opponents throughout the tournament, going undefeated in six games (5-0-1) and outscoring their opposition 22-2.

The first Pan American Games were held in 1951, but its history goes back two decades earlier. In 1932, the South American delegation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) proposed the formation of an organization to promote amateur sports in the Americas. The idea led to the first Pan American Sports Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1940. The 16 countries represented at the meeting formed the Pan American Sports Committee, and agreed to hold the first Pan American Games in 1942 in Buenos Aires, but World War II forced their postponement.

The idea stayed alive, and the first Pan American Games finally opened in Buenos Aires on February 25, 1951.The organization governing the Games was renamed the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) and is currently made up 42 nations of North, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

The soccer tournament at the Pan American Games has never enjoyed a very high profile perhaps because in the past competing nations have not sent their strongest teams. The one exception was the 1975 Games in Mexico City, when 110, 000 spectators turned out at Azteca Stadium to watch the final between Mexico and Brazil.

Like many of the competing nations, the United States has used the competition as a preparation for the Plympic Games. In 1991, the U.S. won its only Pan American gold medal in Havana, Cuba, defeating Mexico 2-1 in overtime. Former U.S. National Team star Joe-Max Moore scored a sensational free kick to win that game for the Americans.

Men's Pan American Game Results

Women's Pan American Game Results