Prior to the introduction of the Americas Under-19 Championship in 2001 there was no qualification route for associate and affiliate teams to the U-19 World Cup.

As a result, the only Americas team represented in the 1998 competition was the full member, the West Indies.

[2] For the 2000 tournament, a combined Americas team was also given the chance to take part, representing the four longstanding associate members from the region: Canada, USA, Bermuda and Argentina.

[3] With the new championship came the possibility for an individual team to qualify for the U-19 World Cup.

[4] In addition to this, the Championship was expanded to two divisions due to the increase in the number of regional teams.