Riots were seen at the Copa America. The condition of the field and the half-empty stands also spoke volumes at the tournament. In two years, World Cup matches will be played in the same stadiums.
The South American football championship tournament Copa America ended on Sunday. Problems during that time raised concerns about the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. About that news including the BBC.
Copa America is organized by the South American football confederation Conmebol. This year, in addition to ten South American countries, six countries from North America, Central America and the Caribbean, Concacaf, participated in the tournament.
The international football association Fifa is responsible for the World Cup tournament. The BBC says that Fifa has been asked to comment on the matter.
After the opening match, the teams from Argentina and Canada criticized the condition of the field at the Atlanta stadium. At the beginning of the games, the half-empty stands also spoke.
After the second semi-final, news broke of a clash involving Uruguayan players and Colombian supporters. The BBC reports that the Uruguayan Football Association said that there were insufficient security measures in place when fans of the teams were not separated from each other.
On Sunday, the start of the final was delayed when thousands of ticketless fans tried to force their way into Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
For safety reasons, the organizers closed the gates and asked the players who were warming up to leave the field. However, the organizers decided to open the gates and temporarily let people in without a ticket check, so that the people at the gates would not be injured by the rush of people behind them.
According to the BBC, Conmebol said that it had suggested arrangements to those responsible for the security of the final stadium, which were not taken into account.
“We are working with event organizers to conduct a comprehensive review of all security practices as we continue to prepare for the 2026 World Cup,” said Miami-Dade County Chief of Public Safety by James Reyes having said.
Matches of the World Cup tournament are to be played on the final stage. The stadium published a statement in X regarding the Copa America.
“We will fully review tonight’s processes and protocols and work with law enforcement to ensure this never happens again,” it said.
The half-time performance of pop singer Shakira in the final also sparked discussion, which made the break longer from 15 minutes to 25 minutes. Due to delays, the match, which went into extra time, finally ended only after midnight local time.