Argentina Wins Copa America in Final Marred by Crowd Chaos

Facts

Argentina won its record 16th South America's Copa America soccer tournament on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., defeating Colombia 1-0 after extra time in a final whose kick-off was delayed for over 75 minutes by crowd control issues.¹
Videos posted online showed fans of both countries, most wearing Colombia's yellow and red jersey, flooding toward gates near the southwest entrance — despite warnings that fans must have tickets even to enter the venue's parking lot.²
Miami-Dade Police Department said 55 people were ejected from the venue during the final and 27 others were arrested, including the president of the Colombian Football Federation and his 43-year-old son for hitting and pushing three stadium security officials.³
In a joint statement, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Chief Public Safety Officer James Reyes said that such a situation was unacceptable, pledging to work with Hard Rock Stadium to ensure a full review of the events.⁴
They further stressed that more than 550 police officers were deployed to the stadium along with personnel from nearby areas to provide security support for the final organized by the South American soccer confederation, CONMEBOL.⁵
Hard Rock Stadium is slated to host seven games in the 2026 World Cup, which will be held across North America, and issues including security and playing surfaces during Copa America raised questions about whether venues will be prepared for the World Cup.⁶

Narrative A, as provided by Newsweek. The chaos that plagued the 2024 Copa America shows that the US isn't prepared to host the World Cup in 2026. Despite robust security including 550 police officers, Hard Rock Stadium was overwhelmed by thousands of fans who could not be contained. If this happened at the Copa America, what would happen when fans from around the world descend upon the stadium for the world's largest sporting tournament? No matter how one divvies up the blame, it’s clear that the US cannot safely host the World Cup.
Narrative B, as provided by Sporting News Canada. The chaos that marred the 2024 Copa America will not happen again, and this weekend's events have little to do with the US' ability to host. As the chief organizer of the tournament, South America's CONMEBOL bears the responsibility for security breaches and organizational lapses, and its failures aren't reflective of a successful World Cup in 2026. Countless events with thousands of people go off without a hitch in the US, and it's foolish to think the country can't handle an event of this magnitude.