lmao they played Chile’s national anthem instead of Uruguay 😂. Look at the face of GK Muslera loool pic.twitter.com/yXlWLeZz2g
— Shujaat (@DrakesWriter1) June 6, 2016
The special 100th anniversary edition of Copa America hosted by the U.S. was supposed to be a showcase to further strengthen a potential 2026 World Cup bid. But so far it has only been an exhibition of greed and poor planning.
Playing Chile’s national anthem for a confused and angry Uruguay ahead of their match against Mexico at For-Profit University Stadium in Glendale, Arizona was an embarrassing flub that follows a string of poorly attended matches. And the excessive cost to attend these games probably has something to do with that.
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Tickets for Brazil-Ecuador start at $50, parking at $40. Will be interesting to see how many people come to the Rose Bowl. #CopaAmerica
— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) June 5, 2016
After 5 #Copa100 games:
Combined stadium capacities: 351,761
Combined announced attendance – 183,460
Percentage: 52.15%
— Aaron Cranford (@akcranford) June 5, 2016
Jamaica-Venezuela, Soldier Field, Chi, @CA2016 @EmptySeatsPics SUM: We have corporate sponsors, we don’t need fans. pic.twitter.com/86GGXWJmYJ
— Thomas Hancock (@Il_Neutral) June 5, 2016
Instead of being a way to show off a storied tournament to new fans and lay the groundwork to bring the World Cup back to the U.S, Copa America Cashgrabenario seems increasingly like a cynical, half-assed money making scheme and little more. Of course, being the joint effort of CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, and Soccer United Marketing, this shouldn’t be surprising at all.
A statement from Copa America Centenario LOC… pic.twitter.com/9R1QBUZHwd
— Copa América 2016 (@CA2016) June 6, 2016
UPDATE: Perhaps in the interest of fairness, Chile’s anthem was cut off and interrupted by Pitbull before their match against Argentina. This is gravest insult of all.
Cortaron el himno de Chile y pusieron un tema de Pitbull. Bien la organización con los himnos… (vÃa @nschillagi) pic.twitter.com/qIah0HSInh
— Javier Lanza (@javierlanza) June 7, 2016
Its going to be a grand colourful Copa America Tournament, held by U.S….. waiting for it to start eagerly!!!
This tournament couldn’t be more of a cash grab. Tickets to the nearest stadium for me were $300 to all 3 games being hosted(two group and 1 quarterfinal game) to sit all the way up in the highest section of the stadium. Those seats have since come down to $70 or so but the tickets are still absurd at that. Also, parking is again $40 at that stadium. I’m glad to see this thing become a giant flop thanks to the greed that saw the tickets come out at WAAAAY too high of a price. Once it was clear this was a cash grab I have stayed away from the tickets no matter how low they go.