Copa América 2024
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world for a reason. It has a way of bringing people together, even in difficult moments. The sport has allowed an intricate, community centered culture to evolve from the shared passion for the beautiful game. Whether it is called soccer, football, or fútbol, it is beloved worldwide. In South America, this impact is marked in the “Copa América”, the top international soccer competition in the continent. During the tournament, the countries of the continent, many of whom possess some of the world’s top players, get the opportunity to compete against each other and showcase their talents and national pride.
For many years, the International South American soccer tournament, Copa América, has been an important part of the Latino fútbol culture. It provides a unique platform for countries of the continent to demonstrate their abilities. The tournament always consists of 10 countries from the CONMEBOL conference; the South American group. Furthermore, in the past it has invited two other additional countries to participate in order to make the tournament a little larger. In past competitions, the invitees have been countries from all over the world including countries from North America such as Mexico and the United States, and even countries from Asia such as Japan and Qatar. However, this year will be different.
In 2024, a significant change will be applied to the renowned soccer tournament. Instead of 12 total participants, the tournament will now consist of 16 teams. Moreover, all 6 invited teams will now be from the CONCACAF conference which features teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. This is a product of CONCACAF’s lack of competition. Compared to conferences in other parts of the world such as Europe and South America, CONCACAF is not providing a high level of soccer. Though there are some up and coming teams and promising talent, mostly in North America, there isn’t much room for improvement and progress forward in becoming a more established and powerful conference. Meanwhile, just south of this weak group exist some of the world’s greatest players, teams, and soccer culture. Because of this, a partnership was negotiated between the directors of both conferences to allow the top 6 contenders of the CONCACAF to participate in the Copa América. The hope is that these teams don’t waste their potential playing easy, low level games against minor forces and have the opportunity to grow their skill by competing against the world’s best.
Now that there are a total of 16 teams competing, the tournament will be as large as ever. The tournament is typically played every 2-4 years with adjustments being made for other major tournaments or world events. The most recent games took place in 2019. Now, 5 years later, it’s back and many fans anticipate the start of the competition which will be between powerhouse Argentina and young Canada on June 20, 2024. It will take place in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The rest of the games will run through the end of June and the beginning of July with the final taking place on July 14, 2024. However, the games will be played in various stadiums throughout the United States.
This high level tournament will be sure to attract a lot of energy from fans and buzz from the media especially considering the change to its format. Many teams are eager to prove themselves to the world or to settle old rivalries. Teams to look out for this year include Argentina, who are both the victors of the most recent World Cup and Copa America, Chile, also recent victors who have brought on new talent, Brazil and Uruguay, highly skilled powerhouses, and the United States, an up and coming team with an excellent performance in the most recent World Cup who have been given a chance to showcase their new talent against the world’s best. The expansion of the tournament will raise the stakes as high as ever as the victor will receive the recognition of an entire hemisphere.
