[1][2] At a FIFA Executive Committee meeting held in Sydney on 26 May 2008, Colombia beat the only other candidate country, Venezuela, for the right to organize the U-20 World Cup.

[4] In an inspection tour of development works in March 2010, Jack Warner, then the vice president of FIFA, said that the completion of this tournament could provide Colombia with a launch pad to become a possible host for the 2026 World Cup.

Argentina Brazil Colombia Nigeria Portugal Spain Cameroon Costa Rica Egypt Guatemala Mali Mexico Australia New Zealand North Korea Panama Saudi Arabia South Korea Austria Croatia Ecuador England France Uruguay The winners and runners-up from each group, as well as the best four third-placed teams, will qualify for the first round of the knockout stage (round of 16).

On 30 September 2009, the presidents of both FIFA and Colombia announced that the logo would show a steaming cup of coffee with the colours of the Colombian tricolour.

The show was managed by the Ibero-American Theater Festival and Teatro Nacional de Colombia and, like the opening ceremony, included musical performances.