Ugly Copa America scenes put pressure on FIFA, U.S. stadiums to ensure safe World Cup 2026

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Copa America 2024 final was supposed to be a celebration of soccer, an accelerant for Americans to become greater fans of the sport, and an appetizer for the 2026 World Cup.

Instead, distressing images of women and children having trouble breathing and needing medical attention for heat exhaustion due to a crowd crush left a disappointing, if not terrifying, impression. Desperate fans without tickets jumped fences, ran past security, and even climbed into the stadium through small holes near a ventilation system.

“It was inhumane,” Silvina Riela, mother of Argentina standout Alexis Mac Allister, told Argentine news outlet TYCSports.

The ugly course of events put immense pressure on FIFA, the World Cup organizers, and host venues in the United States, Canada and Mexico to learn and prepare ahead of the next major soccer tournament two summers from now.

Thankfully, there were no deaths. But who’s to blame for this Copa America disaster?

Let’s start with the offenders, who took matters into their own hands, leading to 27 arrests and 55 ejections by Miami-Dade Police Department among a restless crowd of fans congealed next to one another and beaten by the unforgiving South Florida heat and humidity.

More:Miami mayor outraged by Copa America disaster at Hard Rock Stadium, joins calls for change

Let’s not forget the magnitude of the event: This Copa America final between Colombia and Argentina – with arguably the greatest soccer player ever Lionel Messi potentially playing in his final major international match – was a once-in-a-lifetime soccer match and experience.

And let’s continue with the organizations in charge: This was a major failure by CONMEBOL, the South American Football Confederation and Copa America tournament organizers. This was also a major oversight by CONCACAF, the North American organization of the same stature who could have assisted CONMEBOL and stadium officials more during the final.

The lack of coordination from CONMEBOL put Hard Rock Stadium officials, local law enforcement and first responders – outnumbered compared to more than 70,000 fans – in poor position without the foresight of previous instances where unruly fans created dire or deadly situations in other soccer matches around the world.

The organizations failed to plan or learn from stampeding fans causing 22 deaths in Cairo in February 2015. Or from two people dying in South Africa in July 2017. Or the 125 people who died in Indonesia in October 2022, and the 12 deaths and more than 100 injuries in El Salvador earlier this year. And those are just some of the more recent tragedies, nevermind the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and the Euro 2020 final documented in Netflix's The Final: Attack on Wembley.

“It was scary,” said Maria Morales, a Colombian fan who attended Sunday's game with her three friends after waiting at least two hours before entering the stadium. "You got to a point that you are at the wall (of people), and they are pushing you, and you don't have any place to go. So, it's difficult like to breathe. And with the heat, it's very hot right now.”

“We had players waiting for their family to get in the stadium,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said after the game. “We had to start a match without knowing where your family members are. We were watching the videos. … it was very weird.”

CONMEBOL waited nearly 24 hours to release a statement about the fiasco, which caused the Copa America final to be delayed at least 1 hour, 20 minutes from its initial 8 p.m. ET start time as stadium officials and local law enforcement left to navigate the disastrous scenes before the game. The statement took no responsibility and blamed Hard Rock Stadium.

"In this situation, CONMEBOL was subject to the decisions made by the Hard Rock Stadium authorities, according to the contractual responsibilities established for security operations," the statement read. "In addition to the preparations determined in this contract, CONMEBOL recommended to these authorities the procedures proven in events of this magnitude, which were NOT taken into account. We regret that the acts of violence caused by malicious individuals have tarnished a final that was ready to be a great sports celebration."

Hard Rock Stadium – host to seven 2026 World Cup matches and home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, the annual Formula 1 Miami race, and other major events with sold-out fan attendance – attempted to deter fans from visiting the campus without a game ticket, beginning with social media posts reposted by CONMEBOL two days before the final. Fans without tickets showed up to the stadium anyway.

There was no vetting process to turn fans away fans, like a series of checkpoints within a stadium radius to keep them away from the venue and allow ticket-paying fans into the campus. There was also a lack of adequate barriers to filter and organized people outside of the stadium gates.

Stadium officials, in conjunction with CONMEBOL and CONCACAF and local law enforcement, decided the best course of action after initially closing the gates to fans would be to let everyone in to avoid further stampedes. But the aftermath was unfortunate: The gates remained closed for the rest of the match after the mass entrance, forcing fans who purchased tickets to miss the Copa America final.

“We understand there are disappointed ticket holders who were not able to enter the stadium after the perimeter was closed, and we will work in partnership with CONMEBOL to address those individual concerns," a Hard Rock Stadium spokesman said in a statement. "Ultimately, there is nothing more important than the health and safety of all guests and staff, and that will always remain our priority.

"It is disappointing that a night of celebration was impacted by unlawful and unsafe behavior, and we will fully review the processes and protocols in place tonight, and work with law enforcement to ensure such an event never happens again.”

But ultimately, the onus falls on FIFA to ensure proper and preemptive measures, fostered by thorough communication with stadium officials and local law enforcement. And changes must be in place to handle unruly fans before the next World Cup turns into the next soccer tragedy.