CONMEBOL’s 2024 Copa América in the United States has been nothing short of disastrous in terms of organization, with the tournament final between Argentina and Colombia being a logistical and safety horror movie.
Hours prior to the match to be held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, an excessive amount of fans looking to get into the venue lead to thousands ‘bulldozing’ and forcing their way into a seat.
This forced organizers and stadium security to pause all fan entry into the stadium, delaying the match that was planned to start at 8 PM EST by 30 minutes.
All videos of Copa América final chaos
The delay, however, did not turn out successful as it brought even more fans into the congested entry points and doors, causing injuries and unsafe conditions.
This is a 2026 World Cup Venue. . ️
Regardless of them telling us that CONMEBOL is the oficial organizador of this tournament.Terrible optics.
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) July 14, 2024
#AHORA - Abrieron las puertas de los accesos y la gente se desespera para ingresar al estadio de cara a la final de la Copa América. pic.twitter.com/BARfG4KYBT
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) July 15, 2024
Officials literally chasing supporters throughout the stadium ahead of Copa America final. Chaos. Just chaos. pic.twitter.com/NcCAJx9ai1
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) July 15, 2024
Distressing scenes at Hard Rock Stadium as gates burst and fans fall on top of one another, endangering families and children. Obviously not what you want from a signature football event just two years before the World Cup.pic.twitter.com/9NzIp14niB
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) July 15, 2024
A man who appeared to have media credentials, amidst the chaos, was taken down by stadium security.
A man with credentials who went through the media entrance was taken to the ground and has been cuffed pic.twitter.com/fMfMQF8zv5
— Jake Fenner (@jakefenner_) July 14, 2024
Argentina player Alexis Mac Allister reportedly left the dressing room in full gear to make way to outside of the venue, looking for family that had not been able to enter.
Alexis Mac Allister's mother Silvina stated that Alexis had to leave the locker room to assist his family to get them into the Hard Rock stadium. She says "it was inhumane".pic.twitter.com/ZisP95B0n3
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) July 15, 2024
As the chaos continued and looked to only worsen, CONMEBOL and stadium officials reportedly made the shocking decision to open the doors and allow ALL fans (yes, all fans) to enter the stadium, with or without having purchased a ticket.
And after all that they just let everyone in with no ticket checks. Unbelievable pic.twitter.com/t9S6dwBJAs
— Simon Evans (@sgevans) July 15, 2024
Fans are still sneaking into Hard Rock Stadium, minutes before kickoff is supposed to start. Via @FavianRenkel.pic.twitter.com/Eoyaj2Ty6b
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) July 15, 2024
The lead to unfortunate events inside the venue, with images and videos of fans crowding the exit and entry points, staircases, tunnels and even air vents circulating on social media. Fans were seen jumping and climbing over walls around the stadium.
Fans getting into the stadium through the vents. #CopaAmerica #ARGCOL
pic.twitter.com/3EKHYmo5kh— Pulse Sports Nigeria (@PulseSportsNG) July 15, 2024
The 72 Club entrance at Hard Rock Stadium tonight..
Barbaric and unacceptable! pic.twitter.com/jDl3y3vgAr— Geo Milian (@GeoMilian) July 15, 2024
There were also reports of thousands of fans bypassing metal detectors and patdowns, opening the possibility of attendees entering with guns or weapons. A fan, amongst many, was seen with a glass bottle of alcohol inside the stadium.
Univision is reporting that not only did people without tickets manage to enter, but security was so lax that they couldn't even check attendees for weapons. No metal detectors, no pat downs, nothing. It's like they were inviting disaster! Whether or not the game actually…
— MLS Moves (@MLSMoves) July 15, 2024
Per @bolavipus, prohibited items have made it into the stadium.#CopaAmerica pic.twitter.com/myzDIsHSYA
— Favian Renkel (@FavianRenkel) July 15, 2024
This ultimately lead to the game starting almost two hours later (9:30 PM EST), with hundreds, if not thousands of fans outside of the stadium claiming to have paid as much as over $2,000 per ticket and still not being let inside.
$2,000 PER TICKET. FOR THIS. pic.twitter.com/4LPGIG32Cs
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) July 15, 2024
During the match and to lessen the safety hazard of having the stadium at over capacity, police and stadium security made one last effort of combatting the security breach by going around congested sections of the stadium checking fans' tickets and escorting those that appeared to not have one.
Police coming in and checking tickets. Kicking people out row by row at the Hard Rock Stadium #CopaAmerica Finals pic.twitter.com/nydcfd4iXC
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) July 15, 2024
As game goes on, security is actively going into the crowd checking tickets and removing fans. It’s incredibly packed down there. People fanning themselves and parents escorting kids out of the stands. pic.twitter.com/jRNSjIdmg0
— Laken Litman (@LakenLitman) July 15, 2024
