The deplorable, stampeding fans that broke anything and everything to get inside the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Sunday night for the final of the 2024 Copa America, just to watch Argentina win 1-0 against Colombia in a fairly lackluster affair, was one of the multiple issues that followed the United States hosting the oldest soccer tournament in the world.

So, where does the tournament go from here?

The sea of yellow jerseys that overtook the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami was fairly mute come the final whistle Sunday night. It was obviously a cruel way to lose the biggest international tournament in South American football.

It took Argentina a scoreless 90 minutes, with captain Lionel Messi suffering an ankle injury—which forced a rare substitute decision & left the usually reserved champion in tears—, even with all that and a hell of an extra-time effort, Lautaro Martínez ended up scoring the lone goal in the 112th minute and gave Argentina back-to-back Copa America titles.

The tournament was the second time the United States, a country not within the South American soccer federation known as CONMEBOL, host this event. They hosted it in 2016, specifically to celebrate its 100th edition, labeling it the Copa America Centenario. That time, Argentina found themselves on the losing end, after a 0-0 draw in extra time that Chile won 4-2 on penalties.

Fast forward to late January, the U.S. was suddenly bestowed the immense responsibility that felt like a very last minute attempt. In a statement issued by CONCACAF, the federation the United States plays in, they claimed to be “Working hand in hand with CONMEBOL, we will deliver elite competitions that will provide more opportunities for our federations, and that we know passionate fans want to see.” Something, however, felt off from that moment.

It started with the physical condition of the pitches that the teams played, training and warmed-up on. It is a prevailing fact that American soccer fields use artificial turf, which, unlike natural grass, allows soccer cleats to glide through its composition. Artificial turf usually carries with it man-made materials that can often feel like running on concrete.

While complaints came in from minute one of the very first match of Copa America, perhaps the most obvious example of this came an hour into the final. Lionel Messi had rolled over his ankle in the second half of the final during a challenge for the ball against Colombia’s Luís Diaz and had to be subbed off with a very swollen ankle. Cameras pointed at the superstar covering his face with his hands. His hands fell and revealed a broken man: tears of anguish and, most likely, pain, as his final was over. The only remnants of his game time and a rare Messi injury was the chunks of turf taken out of field.

People also had huge issues with the fans impatiently storming the stadiums just to watch the games. Watching this many Colombians rapaciously packed into one stadium may conjure up images of Colombia’s last great football achievement over two decades ago. In 2001, they hosted the tournament and not only won the whole thing, but did so without conceding a single goal. Despite much concern, there was no damning incident violence or destruction even post-celebrations.

This tournament definitely did feature exciting fans filled with a heady mix of emotion and belief, so strong that it sticks to you like glue. No way to get away from it. But this Sunday night allowed for degradation of the event which lead to injuries, panic, crime and thoughts of coming attractions coming 2026. Hundreds of fans impatiently waited in line to enter the venue, which lead to a stampede of people forcing their way in at the same time, most without tickets, and lead to later vandalism and destruction.

This was sacrosanct to the semi-final chaos a week earlier between Uruguay and Colombia when Colombians allegedly threatened the family members of Uruguay players. The nature of the rivalry was a major factor in the pumping of the oxygen into the fire. The players, including star forward Darwin Nunez, even made attempts to punch Colombian fans as they inched closer and closer to hurl insults.

Security was struggling, hurting. From the beginning, security had limited control and they knew people could rush in to the stadium, whether or not they have viable tickets, at a moments notice. In order to prevent a mass stampede during the final, the decision was made to let those enter willingly against security protocol.

It saved lives but left a permanent stain on what was supposed to be a wonderful tournament.

CONMEBOL and CONCACAF might as well be that famous Spider-Man meme, where three identical Spider-Man are standing and pointing at each other, surprised at all the similarities. Add UEFA into that picture as they are no strangers to matchday mishaps. However, this tournament being hosted in the USA is more intriguing of an issue when we look at what took place in 2015.

The 2015 FIFA corruption case, whereby 14 people would be indicted on corruption and collusion charges by the FBI and the IRS' Criminal Investigation Division, led to the change in the 2016 Copa America being hosted by U.S. Soccer—while noting that Soccer United Marketing, or SUM, the marketing arm of Major League Soccer—assumed the organizational and financial risk of hosting the tournament, including any overhead costs. U.S. Soccer greased elbows with the South American federation, signing favorable contracts with CONMEBOL and generating around $75 million throughout this time.

CONMEBOL, who were In charge of this tournament, proved that they are incompetent when in the safety of their tournament all these years later, and aren’t willing to take responsibility. In 2026, we can only hope that under FIFA and collaboration between Mexico, Canada and the U.S. that a World Cup will be remembered for everything but controversy.