By Paul Nicholson
June 27 – The Copa America Centenario concluded in front of 82,026 fans in the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with a penalty shoot-out win for Chile over Argentina.
Chile retained the title they won in 2015, also in a penalty shoot-out against Argentina in what has been a ground breaking and record setting centenary edition of the world’s oldest international football tournament.
The Argentines, who are still seeking their first major tournament win for 23 years, will see the penalty loss as a cruel blow after having dominated the game but being unable to break the 0-0 deadlock.
The mercurial Lionel Messi almost won the match for Argentina but narrowly missed the goal on 90 minutes and then had a shot brilliantly saved by Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. To make matters worse for him, he then missed Argentina’s first penalty as they succumbed 4-2.
The tournament that was played outside of the CONMEBOL’s South American region for the first time set new records for total and average stadium attendance, television viewing, and digital and social media engagement.
Nearly 1.5 million fans attended the 32 games across 10 venues, for an average of more than 46,000 fans per game.
In the US more than 100 million viewers have watched games on the Univision and FOX networks, with the USA vs Argentina Semi-final match in Houston setting a viewing record for a men’s game on FS1. There were also record ratings for Univision Deportes, with the group stage drawing a larger audience than the group stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Internationally matches were televised in more than 160 countries worldwide with a reach of more than 1.5 billion households. On social media there were 3.5 million users across the social platforms which although it is a record for the tournament was not earth-shattering in football terms.
Alejandro Dominguez, president of CONMEBOL, said: “We are pleased that millions of fans have been able to enjoy the premium level of South American soccer and watch the world’s best stars in venues that had never witnessed a Copa America before, and in particular, that scores of thousands of South Americans have had the chance to support their national teams and celebrate their goals, sharing this tradition with their families in what has been a showing of exemplary behaviour.”
The tournament has been praised by observers on the North American part of the continent who want to see more repeats of its integration of the top six CONCACAF teams into the CONMEBOL showcase, and for it to be played again in the US because of the commercial boost it brings. CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani has been careful not to raise expectation in this regard, saying that his confederation had other issues that needed more focus. However, he did point to the significance the tournament has had, both in terms of making history but also as a showcase for the game in the Americas.
“To see the concept of a football tournament that connects the Americas come to such a successful reality is something that both CONCACAF and CONMEBOL should be very proud of today and well into the future,” he said.
“Copa America Centenario has earned the respect of the entire football world for our quality of competition, tournament organization and the passion of the fans in the stadiums or wherever they may be watching. We give credit and thanks to CONMEBOL for partnering with us to stage an unforgettable and historic tournament.”
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