Why 2024 Copa América chaos doesn't (necessarily) spell doom for 2026 World Cup

It was billed, enthusiastically, as a World Cup warm-up. The 2024 Copa América, staged in the United States, was seen by some as a dress rehearsal. It arrived, audaciously, in Atlanta, then Dallas, then 12 other U.S. cities, as a fútbol fiesta. It also felt like an appetizer for the grandest sporting event on Earth — the men's World Cup, which is coming to North America in 2026, bigger and more bombastic than ever.

But over four messy weeks, the Copa América unraveled. On Sunday, it collapsed into chaos.

And so, rather than whet American soccer appetites, it sparked all sorts of questions and concerns about the country’s readiness for 2026.

The concerns are wide-ranging and understandable. The 2024 tournament, a pan-American championship, was dogged all along by heat, empty seats, criticism of fields, unprofessional quirks and, in the end, disorder. A semifinal ended in a player-fan brawl. The final, delayed by security failures, left thousands of fans suffering — at a 2026 World Cup venue, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

But no, the events of the past four weeks don’t necessarily spell doom for 2026.

This was a slapdash tournament shoddily organized by CONMEBOL, the South American soccer confederation.

FIFA, soccer's global governing body, has already spent far more time and money and manpower planning the 2026 World Cup — the first that it will manage entirely on its own, rather than by delegating that responsibility to a local organizing committee.

And FIFA, surely, has been watching. Local officials in World Cup host cities certainly have been over the past month. The Copa América “wasn't a tournament that we were involved in, in terms of planning,” Lauren LaRusso, the co-chair of the New York/New Jersey 2026 World Cup host committee, told Yahoo Sports last week. “But it is the second largest tournament to come through, from a soccer perspective, and helpful in making observations.”

Many of those operations related to the flow of fans, to security and transportation. But in those areas, previous men’s World Cups and the 2024 Copa América were very different.

The World Cup's security perimeter

The quite obvious, foreseeable, preventable problem on Sunday in South Florida was the lack of an outer security perimeter at Hard Rock Stadium.

At past World Cups, and in 2026 plans, there are fences and barriers ringing the stadium, perhaps cutting through parking lots, with fans and vehicles funneled to preliminary checkpoints hundreds of feet away from the venue.

In theory, then, no one can even get close to a stadium gate without a ticket or credential. And if they do breach the apparatus, it is easier for security to get the situation under control.

That doesn't guarantee order. There were breaches and chaos at the 2021 Euro final and 2022 Champions League final. If thousands of ticketless fans desperately want to see a game, trouble can ensue.

But that wasn't the primary problem Sunday. The problem was that some ticketless fans — it's unclear how many — were allowed so close to stadium gates. At World Cups, the most desirable event in the sport, there has been no such trouble since 2014 — when around 100 Chile fans broke into the media center at Brazil's Maracanã. Most, if not all, were detained; the havoc did not spread.

Unfortunately but understandably, the Copa América debacle could lead to a heavier-than-already-planned security and police presence in 2026. It could make access to games an even more tedious process. It could create inconvenience.

A repeat of Sunday’s scenes, though, seems very unlikely.

Matchday congestion

One of the genuine challenges that the Copa América portended is hellish transportation to and from stadiums. Many of the 11 U.S. venues slated to host the World Cup aren't easily accessible via public transport.

Over the past month, countless fans — from New Jersey to Kansas City and beyond — got stuck in long lines of cars. Some missed kickoff. And World Cup organizers know that the influx will be even greater in 2026.

They might be better prepared than CONMEBOL and local authorities were this summer. They have already been crafting transportation plans. They will arrange shuttle buses. They will devise other solutions. They know this is a concern.

But there is only so much they can do at stadiums surrounded by nothing but highways, concrete and asphalt. Many fans will be forced to resort to ride-sharing services, which will spike the World Cup’s price tag even further. (Hopefully those fans don’t have to climb down a perilous, un-staired hill, as some had to earlier this month at the ride-share dropoff point outside Arrowhead Stadium.)

High ticket prices, higher festive energy

Another frequent complaint from fans throughout the Copa América was that price tag. Even the cheapest, most distant tickets to some matches cost hundreds of dollars.

The World Cup spin here is twofold — and still somewhat uncertain:

1. For the Copa América, CONMEBOL contracted with U.S. stadiums and their ticketing partners, such as Ticketmaster. Infamous "dynamic pricing" schemes drove prices through the roof. FIFA, on the other hand, will not rely so heavily on third-party ticket brokers — or at least it hasn't in the past. It typically runs ticketing itself. We should find out more about the precise processes next year.

2. The World Cup, though, is a splashier event than Copa América. FIFA could still set a very high price point. Back in 2017, while bidding to host the tournament, North American officials proposed that the cheapest “Category 4” tickets would be relatively affordable. But final say is not theirs; it’s FIFA’s.

What the Copa América did foretell, in a positive light, is a huge groundswell of interest and festivity. Yes, around 23% of seats were empty; but over 49,000 people attended the average game, even at the absurd ticket prices. Notable teams like Argentina and Colombia attracted sell-outs. Many of the atmospheres were fantastic.

Traveling supporters even gathered in Times Square and outside team hotels. The night before the Copa América final, before the chaos, Colombian fans and fireworks lit up Miami. On two different occasions outside MetLife Stadium in Jersey, Argentines threw parties. Those — rather than tears and terror — should have been the lasting images of the tournament.

Can World Cup schedule mitigate heat?

The other unavoidable concern that spanned the tournament, from opening weekend to finale, was heat. Fans fainted Sunday amid the crush. But earlier in the tournament, players also suffered; at least one, Uruguay's Ronald Araújo, exited a game feeling dizzy. A day later, an assistant referee collapsed. He was taken to, and later discharged from, a nearby healthcare facility. CONMEBOL confirmed that he'd "suffered from dehydration."

The concern, with respect to 2026, was perhaps a bit exaggerated by the ongoing June-July heat wave sweeping the U.S.. But, on the other hand, the planet is warming; this, potentially, is the new norm. Of the 11 U.S. cities set to host the World Cup in June and July 2026, 10 experienced temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit in June; some topped 100 degrees.

In some, the concern is mitigated by closed-roof stadiums. Those will make matches a more pleasant experience. But getting to and from the matches is still a worry and consideration.

The most consequential variable at FIFA's disposal is kickoff times. Organizers can't completely neutralize heat and humidity, but they could, for example, put 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 story from earlier in the Copa América delved into that issue.

Grass pitches 'a huge challenge'

The main issue with indoor games, naturally, is the playing surface. Laying and maintaining grass fields at NFL stadiums, such as 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 ones laid down for the 2024 Copa América became a frequent point of criticism for players and coaches. On opening night, the pitch at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium was "a disaster," Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez said. Throughout the tournament, he, teammates and opponents said that others weren't much better.

There are crucial differences between the Copa América surfaces and the ones already in development for 2026, however. The World Cup process will be much more intensive.

In Atlanta, for example, a temporary grass field was patched together and placed atop artificial turf mere days before the Copa opener. At the very same stadium, irrigation and ventilation systems have already been installed in preparation for the World Cup. FIFA has tapped in experts from the University of Tennessee and Michigan State to lead research. They are already cultivating the highly specific grass that will underpin the World Cup's "hybrid" playing fields in 2026.

That does not mean the fields will automatically be perfect. Grass will likely be a talking point as the tournament approaches. But here, and in other areas, the World Cup shouldn’t be the “disaster” that the Copa América was.