Under the World Curling Federation (WCF) qualifying system, the second ranked team in the Americas Zone from the previous World Championships - provided they are not the next hosts - are subject to challenge from other countries from the region.

The US are ranked second behind Canada - who will host next year's men's World Championships in Edmonton - paving the way for Brazil's challenge.

Next year's women's World Championships will be held in China's capital Beijing, the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

USA Curling had registered intent to accept any challenges in April, with a best-of-five competition needing to be played in January 2017 as per WCF rules.

The US has decided to hold the event between January 27 and 29 and will select its two most experienced squads.

This is because the World Championships are part of the qualification path for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, with the US currently ranked third for men and sixth for women in the world.

Only the top seven nations will qualify for Pyeongchang alongside hosts South Korea, so missing the Worlds would put Olympic participation in jeopardy.

However, it has created a scheduling issue for the Americans with the dates of the challenge clashing with USA Curling's mixed doubles qualifying round.

This sees teams advance to the Mixed Doubles National Championship, which in turn qualifies pairs for the US Olympic trials, with the discipline set to debut in Pyeongchang.

USA Curling has opted to add four more teams to the National Championship so players competing against Brazil do not miss out on the chance to play.

Since the inception of the World Curling Championships, the only two countries to represent the Americas have been Canada and the US.

Brazil, a WCF member since 1998, also challenged the American men in 2009, 2010 and 2015.

On all three occasions the US won in three straight games and will be heavy favourites again next year.