In these final days before the Copa América kicks off, some real buzz for the tournament has finally arrived. The U.S. men earned a 1-1 tie vs. Brazil in their last tune-up game. Lionel Messi’s Argentina kicks off the tournament against Canada in Atlanta on Thursday (8 p.m., FS1, Univision 62, TUDN, ViX). More than 1 million tickets have been sold across the 32 games.
There are many reasons South America’s national team championship has come to the United States for the second time. The first, and easiest, is it will make South American soccer’s governing body CONMEBOL a lot of money. That certainly happened with the first visit in 2016, and CONMEBOL’s chief operating officer Thiago Jannuzzi told The Inquirer that this year’s edition is on track to beat it.
“We do foresee an important increase in the revenue side compared to 2016,” he said. In 2016, the tournament drew 1,483,855 fans to 32 games across 10 stadiums (including Lincoln Financial Field). That edition started unevenly at the box office but accelerated when the U.S. and Argentina started winning.
Jannuzzi and his colleagues also know that holding the Copa here is an ideal test run for the men’s edition of the FIFA World Cup in 2026. It won’t be a test in Philadelphia because there won’t be games here, but there will be plenty of reasons to pay attention from home.
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The biggest games before the World Cup
On the field, the games will be the biggest ones that the World Cup’s cohosts — the United States, Canada, and Mexico — get to play before the World Cup, because they won’t have to qualify (although they did for the Copa). Opportunities to play the giants of South America are rare, especially in a real competition instead of a friendly.
“This is a very important moment in the U.S. market,” Jannuzzi said. “Bringing the tournament at this point is strategic on the commercial side … but, technically speaking, it’s really important as well for our teams so they can practice, they can compete against new cultures, new football teams that we’re not used to during the tournaments we have in South America.”
That was a nice thing to say, and it might even have a shred of truth. The top ends of the U.S. and Canadian player pools are so heavily based in Europe now that the national teams play (or at least try to play) a more European style of soccer, much different from what South American teams face.
How that will play out will be a notable storyline in this tournament. The U.S. will get its big group stage test in the finale against Uruguay, and Canada’s will be against Argentina and Chile.
But it will be just as much of a measuring stick to see whether the North American neighbors can beat South American teams that on paper are favorable matchups. The U.S. plays its opener against Bolivia (which might be the worst team in a group that also includes Panama) on Sunday, and Canada plays its second group game against Peru on Tuesday.
There’s more history of Concacaf teams playing in the Copa América than casual followers might know. Excluding the expanded 2016 edition, Mexico has done so nine times, Costa Rica four, the U.S. three (the last was 2007), and Jamaica once.
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The money side
Of course, there’s no getting around the money part of all this, and Jannuzzi did not try to. He said this year’s Copa América will make more than many past editions.
“Definitely comparing to the previous editions, it’s a good improvement in terms of revenue,” he said. “We do not usually put out these kinds of numbers, but we are very satisfied [with] what we are facing here in the U.S.”
Though just eight of the tournament’s 14 stadiums will host games in 2026, those eight will get some helpful practice at hosting the world’s football. And all 16 teams, 10 from South America and six from North and Central America, will get some practice with the rigors of travel across the continent.
Unfortunately, Philadelphia won’t be a Copa host. In fact, the only stadium in the Northeast U.S. that will host any games is MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., which gets two group games (including Argentina’s second vs. Chile) and a semifinal (that Argentina and Mexico could be in).
The Northeast isn’t the only region down the pecking order. Kansas City is the only Midwestern venue, and Seattle was shut out, leaving the soccer-crazed Pacific Northwest empty-handed.
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Jannuzzi confirmed that Lincoln Financial Field submitted a bid to be a venue, and said he “wouldn’t say they were good or bad … but we had other assumptions to take into consideration when selecting the final stadiums for the tournament.”
One of those factors became clear over the course of the conversation. It’s not a coincidence that most of the venues are in the West and South, and no team will make a cross-country trip before the semifinals. That will help cut down travel times and the accompanying wear on players.
“If you take a look at the match calendar eight years ago, some of the teams were traveling six, seven hours between matches, which was a huge challenge for the teams, for the players especially,” Jannuzzi said. “This time, we tried the most to avoid this kind of situation. On average eight years ago, [in] 2016, the teams were traveling 3½ hours, and for this edition, the average travel time is 2 hours, 15 minutes.”
Looking to the future
When CONMEBOL signed a partnership deal with Concacaf in January 2023, it did not just relate to the Copa América. It also led to four South American teams playing in the long-awaited return of a Concacaf Gold Cup, this region’s national team championship, for the women’s side.
That tournament took place in February and March, and it was a smashing success. All four South American invitees — Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Paraguay — made the quarterfinals, and the United States beat Brazil in the final.
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There also are plans for a “final four” style tournament of the top two men’s club teams from each continent, creating a champion of the combined Americas. It’s supposed to start this year, but the logistics aren’t done yet.
When the partnership was announced, there wasn’t a set timeline for the national team tournaments. So will it continue for future quadrennial cycles?
“The future is really hard to predict, but as long as the relationship is fruitful and positive for both sides, I don’t see any reasons to change,” Jannuzzi said.
Of course, it won’t be up to him alone. Though Jannuzzi has a high-ranking title, CONMEBOL’s top leader is president Alejandro Domínguez, and Concacaf’s is president Victor Montagliani.
But if they ask Jannuzzi his opinion, he might tell them what he told The Inquirer.
“Exchanging those opportunities is really important for both sides,” he said. “After every project, we evaluate and decide whether we should repeat, adapt, we might even increase tournaments. It always depends on the outputs. But as I said, so far it has been really, really positive.”
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