Miami’s Showcase For Soccer’s World Cup Collapses Into Chaos
Police had to lock down the venue for Copa America final in Miami due to gate crashers.
(Bloomberg) -- The Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia was meant to be Miami’s dress rehearsal for the World Cup soccer tournament in the US. Hours before kickoff, it collapsed into chaos.
Gate crashers stormed Hard Rock Stadium in waves at multiple points Sunday night, climbing over steel fences, shimmying into breached ventilation ducts and rushing stadium access doors. Then, police and security locked the venue down, leaving throngs of anguished fans with tickets in a crush outside as the minutes before kickoff counted down.
“This is a tragedy; no, it’s utter chaos,” said Fernando Ugarte, 67, who’d traveled to Miami from Buenos Aires with his family, paying $4,700 per ticket. He stood outside the stadium after trying to push his way through the mob, only to be forced back as police in riot gear slammed shut the steel barriers. “I don’t know how they expect to pull off the World Cup because they clearly don’t know how to organize anything.”
The disturbances were an ugly culmination to a Copa America tournament already marred by low attendance, a disappointing performance by the host country’s team and fights in the stands. The soccer tournament, which usually takes place in South America, was meant to be a showcase for the World Cup, which will be held in the US, Mexico and Canada in 2026. Hard Rock is set to host seven matches.
On Sunday night, match organizers delayed kickoff for 1 hour and 15 minutes as stadium staff, reinforced with riot police, began to let fans in. But they slammed shut barriers again and again, as fans dressed in Colombia and Argentine jerseys rushed the gates. Police chased down and detained people on entry ramps, escorting others without tickets out of the stadium.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said her office will conduct an immediate review of what happened to better prepare for the World Cup games.
“I was outraged by the unprecedented events that took place,” Cava said at a news conference Monday.
Hard Rock Stadium said in a statement that it more than doubled normal personnel to prepare for the match but had to shut gates to prevent “stampedes and serious injury.” After reopening briefly, access was closed again because the stadium was filled to capacity, even though people with tickets were still outside, according to the statement.
Conmebol, the South American soccer association that organizes Copa America, had said on X before the match that “fans MUST” have tickets to enter the stadium and that no watch parties would be allowed in the parking lots. The association declined to comment further on Monday
Minutes before the match was set to begin, Santiago Giraldo was stuck outside with his wife, despondent. They had flown in to see the game from Colombia at great expense and rushed to the stadium, only to be blocked from getting inside.
“I go to games in Colombia all the time, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “Clearly, America’s not ready for the World Cup.”
As the minutes ticked by, thousands of people massed outside, some with tickets that cost thousands of dollars, resigned to watch play on a giant screen above the stadium’s south gate.
Argentina went on to beat Colombia in overtime, 1-0. Outside, a police officer, when asked what was going on, said: “It’s chaos, pure chaos.”
(Updates starting fifth paragraph with mayor’s comment, details of detentions.)
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