It was enthusiastically announced as a warm-up for the World Cup. The 2024 Copa América, held in the United States, was seen by some as a dress rehearsal. It arrived, audaciously, in Atlanta, then in Dallas and then in 12 other cities in the USA, like a football party. It also felt like an appetizer for the biggest sporting event on the planet – the men’s World Cup, which will arrive in North America in 2026, bigger and more bombastic than ever.
But over the course of four complicated weeks, the Copa América fell apart. On Sunday, everything collapsed.
And so, instead of whetting American football’s appetite, it raised all sorts of questions and concerns about the country’s preparation for 2026.
The concerns are broad and understandable. The 2024 tournament, a Pan-American championship, was always marked by heat, empty places, criticism of the fields, non-professional quirks and, in the end, disorder. The semi-final ended in a fight between players and fans. The final, delayed by security failures, left thousands of fans in pain – at the 2026 World Cup venue, the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
But no, the events of the last four weeks do not necessarily spell doom for 2026.
This was a sloppy tournament organized by CONMEBOL, the South American football confederation.
FIFA, football’s global governing body, has already spent far more time, money and manpower planning the 2026 World Cup – the first it will manage entirely on its own, rather than delegating that responsibility to a local organizing committee.
And FIFA has certainly been watching. Local authorities in World Cup host cities certainly did so last month. The Copa América “was not a tournament that we were involved in, in terms of planning,” Lauren LaRusso, co-chair of the 2026 New York/New Jersey World Cup host committee, told Yahoo Sports last week. “But it is the second biggest tournament ever held, from a football point of view, and it is useful for making observations.”
Many of these operations were related to fan flow, security and transportation. But in these areas, previous men’s World Cups and the 2024 Copa América have been very different.
The World Cup security perimeter
The fairly obvious, predictable and avoidable problem Sunday in South Florida was the lack of an outside security perimeter at Hard Rock Stadium.
In previous World Cups, and in plans for 2026, there are fences and barriers surrounding the stadium, perhaps across parking lots, with fans and vehicles funneled to preliminary checkpoints hundreds of meters away from the venue.
In theory, then, no one can even go near a stadium gate without a ticket or credential. And if they tamper with the device, it will be easier for security to control the situation.
This does not guarantee order. There were breaches and chaos at the 2021 Euro final and the 2022 Champions League final. If thousands of fans without tickets desperately want to see a game, problems could arise.
But that wasn’t the main problem on Sunday. The problem is that some fans without tickets – it’s unclear how many – were allowed to get so close to the stadium gates. In the World Cups, the most coveted event in sport, this problem has not occurred since 2014 – when around 100 Chilean fans invaded the media center at the Maracanã in Brazil. Most, if not all, were detained; chaos did not spread.
Unfortunately, but understandably, the Copa América debacle could lead to a heavier police and security presence than already planned in 2026. It could make accessing the games an even more tedious process. This could create inconveniences.
A repeat of Sunday’s scenes, however, seems very unlikely.
Journey congestion
One of the genuine challenges that the Copa América portends is the hellish transportation to and from the stadiums. Many of the 11 U.S. locations scheduled to host the World Cup are not easily accessible by public transportation.
Over the past month, countless fans — from New Jersey to Kansas City and beyond — have been stuck in long lines of cars. Some missed the kickoff. And the World Cup organizers know that the flow will be even greater in 2026.
They may be better prepared than CONMEBOL and local authorities this summer. They are already drawing up transportation plans. They will arrange buses. They will create other solutions. They know this is a concern.
But there’s a limit to what they can do in stadiums surrounded by nothing but highways, concrete and asphalt. Many fans will be forced to use shared transport services, which will further increase the price of the World Cup. (I hope these fans don’t have to walk down a dangerous, stairless hill, as some had to do earlier this month at the shared drop-off point outside Arrowhead Stadium.)
High ticket prices, greater festive energy
Another frequent complaint from fans throughout the Copa América was the price. Even the cheapest and most distant tickets for some matches cost hundreds of dollars.
The World Cup spin here is twofold – and still somewhat uncertain:
1. For the Copa América, CONMEBOL contracted US stadiums and their ticketing partners such as Ticketmaster. Infamous “dynamic pricing” schemes have driven prices through the roof. FIFA, on the other hand, will not rely as much on third-party ticket brokers – or at least it hasn’t in the past. He usually carries out the ticketing himself. We should find out more about the precise processes next year.
2. The World Cup, however, is a more eye-catching event than the Copa América. FIFA could still set a very high price. In 2017, during the bid to host the tournament, North American authorities proposed that the cheapest “Category 4” tickets would be relatively affordable. But the final word does not belong to them; It’s from FIFA.
What the Copa América predicted, in a positive way, is a huge wave of interest and festivity. Yes, about 23% of the seats were empty; but more than 49 thousand people watched the average game, even with the absurd ticket prices. Notable teams such as Argentina and Colombia have attracted sold-out tickets. Many of atmospheres were fantastic.
Traveling fans even gathered in Times Square and outside team hotels. The night before the Copa América final, before the chaos, Colombian fans It is fireworks lit up Miami. On two separate occasions outside MetLife Stadium in Jersey Argentines threw parties. These – rather than tears and terror – should have been the lasting images of the tournament.
Can the World Cup calendar take the heat off?
The other inevitable concern that ran through the tournament, from the opening weekend to the final, was the heat. Fans passed out on Sunday in the crowd. But at the start of the tournament, the players suffered too; at least one, Uruguayan Ronald Araújo, left the game dizzy. A day later, an assistant referee collapsed. He was taken to and later released from a nearby health center. CONMEBOL confirmed that he “suffered from dehydration”.
The concern, with regards to 2026, was perhaps a little exaggerated by the ongoing heat wave between June and July sweeping the USA. But on the other hand, the planet is warming; this, potentially, is the new norm. Of the 11 U.S. cities that will host the World Cup in June and July 2026, 10 experienced temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit in June; some reached 100 degrees.
In some, the concern is mitigated by stadiums with closed roofs. This will make matches a more enjoyable experience. But getting to and from games is still a concern and consideration.
The most important variable at FIFA’s disposal is game start times. Organizers can’t completely counteract the heat and humidity, but they could, for example, host a game in Kansas City at 9 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. local time — and fill afternoon slots with indoor games.
We’ll see if they do. The complication is the broadcast schedule. Our previous Copa América story delved into this issue in depth.
Grass fields ‘a big challenge’
The main problem with indoor games, of course, is the playing surface. Laying and maintaining grass fields at NFL stadiums like AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, “is a huge challenge,” 2026 World Cup chief Heimo Schirgi said on a visit to JerryWorld last year.
The predictions for the 2024 Copa América have become a frequent point of criticism from players and coaches. On opening night, the pitch at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium was “a disaster,” said Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. Throughout the tournament, he, teammates and opponents said the others weren’t much better.
However, there are crucial differences between the Copa América surfaces and those already in development for 2026. The World Cup process will be much more intense.
In Atlanta, for example, a temporary grass field was patched up and placed on artificial grass just days before the opening of the World Cup. In the same stadiumIrrigation and ventilation systems have already been installed in preparation for the World Cup. FIFA turned to experts from the University of Tennessee and Michigan State to lead research. They are already growing the highly specific grass that will sustain the World Cup “hybrid” fields in 2026.
This does not mean that the fields will automatically be perfect. Grass will likely be a topic of discussion as the tournament approaches. But here, and in other areas, the World Cup should not be the “disaster” that the Copa América was.
