Copa America (Soccer)

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    Mayhem at Copa América Final Raises Questions About 2026 World Cup

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    Chaos at the stadium raised questions about crowd control and security just two years before the U.S. is set to co-host the World Cup in 11 cities.Throngs of fans rushed past security at the final match of the Copa América soccer tournament, some of them brazenly climbing tall fences. A few appeared to try to enter the Hard Rock Stadium near Miami through a ceiling vent. Children cried as the crowds pushed into metal barriers. Some adults grew faint under the broiling sun.The highly anticipated matchup between Argentina and Colombia on Sunday was intended to showcase the best of South American soccer — and serve as a dress rehearsal for the United States to co-host the men’s World Cup in 2026. Instead, it turned into mayhem, delaying kickoff for over an hour as the situation outside the stadium doors grew dangerous.On Monday, tournament organizers, stadium officials and the local authorities struggled to explain exactly what had gone wrong, offering few details about evident organizational failures, pointing fingers and mostly blaming fans who did not have tickets for the match for showing up anyway and becoming “unruly.” Law enforcement officials arrested 27 people and evicted 55 others from the stadium, according to the Miami-Dade County Police Department.Ramón Jesurún, president of the Colombia Soccer Federation, was arrested, along with his son.Carlos Ortega/EPA, via ShutterstockAmong those arrested were Ramón Jesurún, the head of Colombia’s soccer federation, and his son, Ramón Jamil Jesurún. They were charged with battery of a security guard in a stadium tunnel after the match had concluded, with Argentina defeating Colombia, 1-0, in extra time. The younger Mr. Jesurún was also charged with grabbing another stadium employee. Father and son spent the night in the Miami-Dade County jail, public records showed.The chaos caused international embarrassment for organizers of the Copa América, which had already been marred by complaints from players and coaches about the poor quality of the playing surfaces, training facilities and security. After a semifinal match in North Carolina last week, several Uruguayan players jumped into the stands to fight with Colombian fans whom they later said had been threatening the players’ families.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      A Bleak View of Soccer’s Future Misses the Full Picture

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      Uruguay Coach Marcelo Bielsa lamented that the sport was surrendering its appeal in service to its business. He’s right. And also wrong.Barely lifting his eyes from the floor, Marcelo Bielsa started out with an elegy for what had been lost and ended with a lament for all that is to come. Lesser managers than Bielsa, Uruguay’s philosopher-coach, might have been preoccupied by the looming material reality of a Copa América quarterfinal with Brazil. Bielsa has always been more concerned by the ethereal.The picture he painted was emotional, heartfelt and midnight black. Soccer’s glory, he said, is that it was always free, a “popular property,” one of the few pleasures available even “to the poorest people.” Now, “the business” that has swallowed the game whole has wrenched it brutally from their grasp.“Soccer has more and more spectators but it is becoming less and less attractive,” he said. “What made this the best game in the world is not prioritized today. No matter how many people watch, if you do not make what they are watching pleasant, it will only benefit the business.”Bielsa’s vision of the future is more than bleak; it is ever so slightly apocalyptic. There will, he predicted, be fewer players who “deserve to be watched.” In turn, the game will be “less enjoyable.” As the spectacle diminishes, the “artificial” boom in spectators that has turned soccer into the global cultural phenomenon it has become will start to wither and fade.So forlorn, so dystopian was his worldview that it is only really possible to conclude one thing: As well as guiding a thrilling, and apparently extremely hands-on Uruguay team to the semifinals of the Copa América, Marcelo Bielsa has probably been watching a little too much of the European Championship.Marcelo Bielsa didn’t like what he saw from his sport this summer.Erik S Lesser/EPA, via ShutterstockWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More