How would you like to host the Copa America two years from now, if you fail to host the Copa America this year?

While much of the world was paying attention to the European Championship in Germany, the South American Championship, the Copa America, was also held. It was a tournament of historical importance: the Central and North American countries, the members of CONCACAF, had a much greater role than before. In the past, it had happened that invited national teams from other continents, such as Qatar, Japan or even Mexico, had participated in the tournament, but there had never been an example of such cooperation.

In addition to the ten member nations of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), six teams from CONCACAF participated in the Copa, in addition to being an official co-host.

The other issue is that no one can be proud of this arrangement.

This year's Copa America was full of scandals. During the final, for example, fans without tickets stormed the stadium, broke through the entrance gate, and even fanatics entered the building through the ventilation. The denouement lasted for about an hour and a half, while hysterical scenes took place outside, and in the crowded sectors, there was not much left for tragedy. The president of the Colombian Federation, Ramon Jesuront“And his son, Ramon Jamil Jesuront Moreover, they were arrested after the final match because they wanted to enter the stadium without permission, and then started fighting with security.

The chaos was not only a feature of the final match. After the semi-final match, Uruguay players fought with Colombian fans because they feared that the crowd would attack their family members. During the disturbing scenes, no security guard or police appeared to try to intervene.

“Let me say one more thing before they cut the sound because they don’t want us to talk about what’s happening here, but it’s a disaster. I ask everyone to be careful, our families and our children are in the stands. It was a disaster, there were no police and we had to protect our families. It’s the fault of two or three people who drank too much.” Tell after the match Jose Maria Jimenezcaptain of the Uruguay national team.

And if someone thinks the problem was only with the Colombian fans, or that the Uruguayan players were too aggressive to cause a brawl, it's worth listening. Marcelo Bielsa Also out of stock. After winning the bronze medal match, the Uruguayan captain spoke about the bad experiences he had at the Copa.

“They said the pitches were in perfect condition, but it was all a lie. They held a press conference to say the pitches were perfect, but the joints between the grass pieces were still visible. The pitches were in a catastrophic state, Bolivia couldn’t even train, but since it was about them, nobody cared. I can prove with photos that all these are lies! The weaker teams were wronged… But CONMEBOL is concerned with the fact that the referees didn’t award a penalty to Brazil.

I will say everything I promised myself and will not say… The Americans do not say that the track is in perfect condition. They admit that the grass was planted three days before the matches, but CONMEBOL threatens us, you will see! Scaloni dared to criticize the state of the pitch only once, and was immediately asked not to do it again. It is the same with the players, everyone was threatened

Bielsa shouted in frustration.

Incidentally, the specialist also defended his players regarding what happened in the match against Colombia. “The percentage of Uruguayan fans was very small, most of them were families sitting in the stands and there were not enough security measures. Given this, the players' behaviour was a natural and inevitable reaction.”

In addition to the safety of the stadiums and the condition of the grass, the organizers have also been criticized for the traffic. In addition to Miami, complaints have been made about all the stadiums during the tournament. It's not just about the organization of the matches, but also about the difficulties of accessing the stadiums. And then it occurred to many people: If the United States fails miserably as host of a 16-team tournament, will it be able to maintain its status as host of a 48-team World Cup in 2026?

But the responsibility is shared between CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, and most of the tasks have not been left out of CONMEBOL’s hands. At the same time, CONMEBOL cannot be blamed for the shortcomings in the arrangements, as local law enforcement authorities are already responsible for security. This was also expressed by Fox’s expert commentator in his presentation, which was extended by the scenes leading up to the final.

“This doesn’t look good. And also because this is happening under our watch, in our country, and it doesn’t look good for our country, less than two years before the World Cup. I have no doubt that FIFA and the United States will resolve this situation and ensure that this doesn’t happen in the future.” Alex Lalas.

The audience immediately compared the Copa America final to the Copa America final. Donald Trump Between the assassination attempt on the former US President who is now As a Republican presidential candidate Campaigns at the Pennsylvania Convention shot him in the ear 20 years Thomas Matthew CrooksA man in his fifties was killed in the attack, while another was taken to hospital in critical condition.

It seems that this was enough to make the fans raise their voices in fear of the arrangements for the upcoming World Cup. The athlete In his report on the final match Alejandro Flores One of the participants expressed the opinion of many:

CONMEBOL shouldn't have brought the tournament here… Look around, they're not ready to host the World Cup!

FIFA has thus learned a lesson not only in ensuring an excellent ranking over two years, but also in convincing the world that the tournament will be safe. The latter may be the most difficult, but not impossible. At first, it will be enough to consider the recommendations of local experts. guardian In his analytical article, for example, he wrote about the shortcomings of the Cup final:

“Standard procedures for such incidents have been clearly ignored,” Mike Ryan Ruiz According to a local journalist, the security presence outside the stadium was less than it is at football games attended by Bethune-Cookman College, which has an enrollment of 2,000 to 2,500 undergraduates. There was no security cordon around the stadium to prevent ticketless fans, who have been consistently blamed for the problems, from crowding the gates at all.

However, what happened in Miami, site of the Copa America final – seven group stage matches, the round of 16 and the bronze medal match will be held at this stadium in 2026 – is not a unique case from the recent past.

• In 2021, before the European Championship final in London Crowd disturbances and people entering the stadium without tickets Cause a problem.
• A year later, at the Champions League final, some Liverpool fans were denied entry to the stadium with valid tickets. The final could only start 36 minutes late because thousands of people, including women and children, were unable to reach the Stade de France. French police used tear gas against them, more than 200 people were arrested, 230 were injured, and after months of legal wrangling, it became clear that the organizers had indeed been wrong.
• In 2023, the start of the Brazil-Argentina World Cup qualifier was delayed by 30 minutes as visiting fans clashed with home fans during the national anthem, before Brazilian police put an end to the riot.

By comparison, fans who regularly run onto the pitch at the European Championships don’t seem to be much of a problem anymore. FIFA can point to all the examples, saying that these sporting events were organised by CONMEBOL and UEFA.

Perhaps the question is not whether the United States is capable of organizing a world championship with a fleet, but whether any large-scale championship can still be safely organized today?

If we stick to Miami only, Hard Rock Stadium hosts the local American football team, the Dauphins, and ticket sales and crowd control are usually not a problem at these meetings. Starting in 2022, the Formula 1 track will also visit Miami, and the competition has run smoothly for the past three years, even with much less security.

However, football is a sport full of emotions. You can love it or hate it, but there is no escaping the fact that it is the most popular sport in the world. You cannot afford to have fans afraid of the biggest, most important matches, and not dare to go to them. You cannot have fans afraid of the presence of the opponent, the police, on the spot. We will lose the essence of football, the personal stories, and most importantly, the sense of belonging. Whether with other fans or with the national team.

There will be enormous pressure on FIFA over the next two years, and it is the organisation’s duty to do everything possible to ensure that the 2026 World Cup is a perfect one. After all, the organisation has been constantly criticised, the arrangement of the World Cups in Russia and Qatar has not been well received by the public, and the restructuring of the Club World Cup was not a popular decision either, but this World Cup promises to be a major one. After so many years of setbacks, FIFA cannot afford to make a mistake this time. The slogan that has been popular in recent years, that football is for all, cannot remain just a catchy slogan, and high pressure cannot be an excuse to control the organisation.

Miami-Dade County, which is responsible for the Copa America final, has already taken the first steps. Advertiseto review the security protocol for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Many similar publicly announced measures will still be needed to restore public confidence. The Copa America was a warning sign for FIFA, but it may have come at the right time to prevent an even greater tragedy.