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While the CONCACAF W Championship reaches its conclusion, south of the Darién Gap the women's footballers are also pursuing their Olympic dream. The 2022 Copa América Feminina is being held in Colombia, with all ten South American countries entering: no need for qualification here. They have been split into groups of five. In Group A; Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia and Ecuador do battle, while in Group B it is Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, and Peru. Group A will predominantly be played in Cali's Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, home of three football clubs from Colombia's top two tiers of men's football, while Group B will take place mostly in Estadio Centenario in the city of Armenia, home of second-tier Deportes Quindío, champions of Colombia back in 1956. The only exception is the final day, as two games will take place simultaneously, thus using both stadiums. The top two teams in each group will reach the semi-finals, while there will also be a fifth-placed play-off between the two countries in third in their respective groups. The third-placed play-off and the fifth-placed play-off will take place in the Estadio Centenario, but the semi-finals and final will take place in Estadio Alfonso López in Bucaramanga, home of top-tier Atlético Bucaramanga. There is some real talent on display with Brazil heavy favourites, and even without qualification spots for the Olympics, World Cup, and Pan American Games, this competition means a lot: the winner has the right to call themselves champions of South America. The qualification process is simple for the Olympics: the two finalists will be in Paris, and the other eight countries won't be. In terms of the Women's World Cup, the top three countries will qualify a place, while those in fourth and fifth will qualify for the inter-continental play-offs next year in New Zealand. Finally, the top three teams other than automatic qualifiers Chile, who are hosting, will qualify for the Pan American Games. With the tournament underway we won't have to wait long to find out who will carry South American hopes into the women's football tournament at Paris 2024. Patrick Green Writer, Totallympics News

Paris 2024 qualification is in full swing and we have received our latest update from the International Olympic Committee. Table Tennis has confirmed its qualification procedure for the Games, leaving just Athletics, Aquatics, and the Cycling discipline of BMX Freestyle to go. Furthermore, Football has updated its procedure. Table Tennis Table Tennis maintains the same programme from 2020: a singles event for both genders, a team event for both genders, and a mixed doubles event. The quotas are also unchanged, with 86 men and 86 women. Each country can have two athletes per singles event, and one team of three or mixed doubles pairing in the other events. In total, this represents three men and three women as a maximum over the programme. Out of the 86 quota spots per gender, three are reserved for the hosts and one for universality places. For the team event, there will be sixteen teams per gender. The winners of each continental qualification event (dates and locations TBC), as well as the runners-up for the Americas, will earn one team (a total of six), while the quarter-finalists from the 2024 World Teams Championships (16-25 February 2024, Busan, KOR) will also snag a quota. The highest ranked team not already qualified in the 2024 World Team Ranking (published immediately at the end of the WTC) will also qualify. Finally, the host nation will also qualify a place (unless already qualified in which the place will be reallocated to the ranking). For the mixed doubles, again there will be sixteen pairs. Again, six will qualify from continental qualification events (the winners of each plus the runners-up for the Americas), while the semifinalists at a Designated Qualification Event (exact dates and locations TBC) at March or April 2024 will also get a place. The five highest ranked pairs in the Mixed Doubles Ranking of 7 May 2024 will also get a place, as will the hosts France (if they have already qualified a sixth pair will get the spot). A Mixed Doubles member must also be part of the Team if an NOC qualifies athletes in both the Mixed Doubles and the Team event for the relevant gender. For the singles event, the sixteen teams will see their two highest members based on the World Ranking of 18 June 2024 qualify a place, for a total of thirty-two. Twenty-two places will be won by continent, by Continental Qualification Events (exact dates and locations TBC) that will be held in early May 2024, with six being earned in Asia and Europe, five being earned in the Americas, four in Africa, and one in Oceania. Mixed Doubles athletes will also be able to enter, and then fifteen (less the Mixed Doubles athletes) will qualify through the Singles World Ranking of 18 June 2024. Finally, one universality place will be added. This system has a few changes from 2020: the North American and Latin American continents have been combined into one "Americas" continent, the team event now has one ranking place, and so on, but the system is very similar to 2020. Football Football hastily published their qualification system's first draft last month but left all but the North American qualification events as TBC, but have now published an update. On the women's side, we now know that the Asian qualifier (worth two spots) will be the Asian Qualifiers for the 2024 Women's Olympic Football Tournament (dates and locations TBC), although details on this remain scarce. More significant is the South American qualifier (also worth two spots), the Copa América Feminina 2022 (Various locations, 8-30 July 2022), which is already underway. On the men's side, the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup (dates and locations TBC) is confirmed as the Asian qualifier, worth 3.5 spots. We are now very close to having a full set of qualification documents, with just a few federations to go. Patrick Green Writer, Totallympics News

The familar rivalry between the United States and Canada will see its latest chapter in Mexico as both teams reached the final of the CONCACAF W Championship, the North American women's football qualifier. In the first semifinal of two played as a double-header at Estadio Universitario in San Nicolás de los Garza, the US took on Costa Rica. The Americans pushed early on but were met by stubborn resistance. But the reigning world champions are used to 'winning ugly' if they have to, and their opening goal certainly met that description: a goalmouth scramble after a corner poked home by Emily Sonnett. Las Ticas were up against it now, and they couldn't keep the deficit to one before half-time; first a goal was disallowed for offside before the Stars and Stripes did get number two thanks to a lovely back-heeled assist pounced upon by Mallory Pugh in injury time. There was still time for one more goal, although the Americans would have to wait until second half injury time to get it: a ball over the top eventually found its way to Ashley Sanchez who smashed the USWNT into the final. In the second game, it was Canada that faced Jamaica. Similarly to the first game, it was a big name against an underdog, and that big name found the lead early when a cross was deflected into the path of Jessie Fleming who nodded home. Canada never looked back after that, adding two more goals in the second half: first Allysha Chapman headed home a cross to the far post, before another cross was headed on to Adriana Leon who tapped home for three. This sets up two crucial games, to be played as a double header at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, which is a stadium fit for champions: five-time CONCACAF Champions League winners CF Monterrey call it home. Firstly, in the third-placed play-off, Costa Rica face Jamaica, before the world champion Americans take on the Olympic champions Canada in the final. The winners of the competition will qualify for the Olympics directly, as well as have the luxury of foregoing qualifying for the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup. Second and third will play in the "Olympic play-in" in 2023, while the fourth-placed team will see their Olympic dream die for this cycle. Patrick Green Writer, Totallympics News