Two continents are witnessing an avalanche of fan emotions in the ongoing mega tournaments being held simultaneously, Copa America 2024 and Euro Cup 2024. Both the tournaments are nearing the finish line. While the final four in Euro Cup are somewhat in the predictable zone but definitely not in Copa America where we have witnessed a massive shock
Brazil are not in the final four but Canada is, let that sink in!
On-field action aside, we look at the off-field business of Copa America 2024 in this series. In the previous part, we detailed the financial rewards, sponsorships and economic benefits for the host country in Copa America 2024 which can be read here. In this part, we delve into the attendances, viewership and the challenges seemingly faced by the hosts in preparation for the FIFA World Cup ahead
Viewership
FOX won the rights to broadcast Copa America back in 2021, and every game is available on the FOX family of channels as well as on the app. Now, this seems to be a golden period for FOX and ‘soccer’ fans in the USA because FOX has been consistently delivering big viewership numbers with significant gains over 2021 figures
- Panama – United States: 2.47mn
- USA – Uruguay: 3.77mn
- USA – Bolivia opening match: 3.19mn
Overall, average viewership on FOX is 1.1mn, a massive 411% increase in comparison to the previous iteration of the competition
Similarly, on Univision network, the other broadcast partner, tournament viewership was up +63% versus 2021’s group stage delivery averaging 1.48mn viewers per game. Copa America 2024 has delivered five of the top 10 programs on Spanish-language television this year
Attendance
There can be two ways to view this.
On one hand, the average attendance in 2024 Copa America at 44,537 is 28% higher than the 2019 edition held in Brazil & is comparative to the Euro 2024 average attendance of 51,931, but on the other hand the stadiums are only 70%-80% full in most occasions. It’s a contrasting situation and the reasons are manifold
- Large stadiums: Average German stadium capacity where Euro Cup is being held is 56,000 making a 90% occupancy possible whereas most Copa America matches are being held in larger NFL stadiums with average capacity being 70,000 – 80,000, thus seemingly lesser occupancy ratio
- Higher ticket prices: Average ticket prices has been upwards $100 per ticket making it a considerable sum for a family of four. That sum is quite high for a fan.
- Associated matchday expenses: Adding to the above is the associated cost of food & beverage which needs to be factored in. For fans flying in from South America, it’s an expensive ask to be present at all their country’s matches considering additional expenses of transportation and hotels.
- Distance between cities: Played in 13 cities, the average distance between two cities are over 1000 miles with the exception being Texas where the average distance is still 400 miles. For a fan flying in from South America, that is additional 1000 miles. It’s a huge spread
Precursor to the FIFA World Cup
US Soccer can use Copa America 2024 as an exercise to check the readiness and possible challenges in hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Quite a few reasons have been highlighted by experts all around, here are some of them
- Pitch conditions: Many World Cup matches are set to be played in the same stadium as Copa America 2024. Most of these stadiums are NFL & multi-purpose stadiums with six of them having artificial grass. Many concerns on the quality of pitch have been raised by playing teams and officials
- Attendances / ticket prices: As mentioned above, it remains a concern till addressed appropriately
- Local Transportation: Some experts have pointed out the lack of adequate public transportation facilities as a considerable challenge. With few trains, it’s stated that transportation infrastructure can really only handle people driving by car
- Weather: United States is hot in the summer with some areas where Copa America 2024 matches are played have witnessed over 100°F / 37°C temperature. Attendances could also be affected in such situations
Conclusion
It has been quite an enjoyable Copa America 2024 so far with the dream story of Canada being in semi-finals. The business side of the tournament can be termed as a success as well as the viewership figures which only adds to the encouragement
On the larger context, as a preparation for the FIFA World Cup, US Soccer will have to take cognizance of the issues highlighted by numerous sources and figure out solutions
Image source: Copa America Twitter
