Copa America organizers come within an inch of a catastrophe

It came as no surprise that there was plenty of anticipation ahead of Argentina's match against Columbia in the Copa America final in Miami on Sunday. Would it be Lionel Messi's last competitive match for Argentina? Or perhaps Colombia would win their first Copa America?

It was also no surprise that many fans would turn up to try to somehow catch a glimpse of their heroes – despite the sometimes absurdly high resale prices of between $2,000 (€1,833) and €7,000 ($6,414) on the official Ticketmaster sales platform in the few days they were on sale.

Latin American supporters are real football fans, not simply consumers. Unlike US soccer fans, who were conspicuous by their absence at their national team's games, Hispanics filled the arenas and the coffers. Sometimes they can let their emotions get the better of them, but this should come as no real surprise. However, that's something that was apparently news to the hosts of the Copa America final, which ended in a 1-0 extra-time victory for Argentina.

Chaos at the entrance gates

And so, on Sunday evening, the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami made for a chaotic scene: tens of thousands of fans still waiting outside the gates at the originally scheduled kickoff time, some without tickets. Others had obviously been taken in by ticket scammers and tried to get in anyway. And in the middle of it all were spectators with valid tickets, who couldn't get through.

Overtaxed stewards and police officers tried to push the crowd back, virtually locking them in a form of cage. Children screamed or cried, others simply couldn't breathe. The organizers came within an inch of a catastrophe.

Security personnel that didn't speak Spanish

Unlike the spectators, most of the security staff did not speak Spanish, which made communication much more difficult. And so, some fans tried to climb over fences, others even tried to find their way through the ventilation shafts – whether without tickets or in fear of not being able to get into the stadium is unclear.

The police reacted harshly. It was not initially clear how many arrests were made on the evening. Some of those arrested were lying in front of the fences with their hands and feet shackled. As panic spread in the crowd, the stadium officials decided to open the gates. The stadium operator spoke of several thousand fans who had turned up without tickets. However, some video footage also suggests that the gates simply gave way under the pressure of the people trapped inside.

Now all the spectators streamed into the arena at the same time. Frightening scenes broke out again on stairways and escalators. Because everyone standing in front of the gates was now allowed in, the stadium was overcrowded. Police officers and desperate, even horrified volunteers tried to at least keep the entrances and exits clear. It was a hopeless endeavor. Due to the chaotic conditions around the pitch, the referee wasn't able to start the match until 82 minutes after the scheduled kickoff.

Another winter World Cup?

In addition to the organizational deficiencies and the disinterest of the American fans, the Copa also provided hints of other challenges that organizers of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico can expect to face. In Miami or at the venues in Texas, temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the sun were measured on match days.

"The intense heat combined with so much humidity undoubtedly lowers physical performance," Ricardo La Volpe told DW on the sidelines of the final.

In view of this, the former coach of both the Mexican and Costa Rica national teams suggested that FIFA should think about moving the tournament to the winter months – like it did with Qatar in 2022.

"I think the best time would be in December or January. But that's for FIFA to decide."

Brazilian TV pundit and former Wolfsburg striker Grafite expressed a similar view.

"It's difficult to prepare for a game in 40-degree heat," he told DW. The vast majority of the players play their club football in Europe. A large part of the season there takes place in the fall or winter in moderate temperatures.

"And now they come to the United States in the final phase of the season to prepare for a game in 40-degree heat, there's no real preparation for that."

This article was originally published in German.