The Copa América is the oldest and longest-running continental soccer competition, crowning the South American men’s champion.
Of its 47 previous edition, all but one have been held in South America. The 48th Copa América, which will take place in 2024, will be the second to be held outside South America.
Just like it did in 2016, the United States will serve as the host for a special edition of the Copa América that features not only all 10 teams from the South American confederation CONMEBOL, but also six guest teams from its North American counterpart, Concacaf.
Why is the Copa América taking place in the United States again? Let’s examine two main reasons.
A strategic partnership
CONMEBOL and Concacaf announced in January 2023 that the U.S. would host the 2024 Copa América.
The agreement was part of a strategic partnership between the confederations, which also included four South American teams joining eight Concacaf nations in the inaugural W Gold Cup this spring.
Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay all participated as guest teams at the W Gold Cup, which saw the U.S. women’s national team defeat Brazil in the final.
CONMEBOL and Concacaf also announced a four-team men’s club competition featuring two teams from each confederation. Further details on that tournament have yet to be revealed.
A financial boon
After 44 Copas over nearly 100 years were exclusively held in South America, two of the last four have now been held in the United States.
That is no accident: The financial possibilities are hard to ignore.
The 2016 Copa América Centenario broke all-time tournament records for attendance, television viewership, digital and social media engagement and revenue, per the Los Angeles Times.
This year’s tournament is poised to be similarly successful. With 16 teams instead of the typical 10 or 12, there will be more opportunities for tournament organizers to collect matchday revenue, and for TV networks to sell ads.
But it’s more than the number of games: it’s who is playing in them, and where.
The United States has a huge South American diaspora, which should see almost every game well attended. Having the host U.S. men’s national team participating won’t hurt either, nor will the presence of Mexico, which by most metrics is the most popular national team in the United States.
The list of venues includes some of the largest stadiums in the country, which typically house NFL teams. Of the 14 stadiums that will host games, just three have capacities of less than 60,000.
The United States has the built-in infrastructure to easily host a tournament of this magnitude, and will use the occasion to serve as a test run for a tournament of a much bigger magnitude: the 2026 World Cup, which will feature 48 teams for the first time.
With all that in mind, don’t expect this to be the last time we see this strategic partnership result in a Copa América based in the United States.
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