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The Copa America Final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami was a chaotic disaster on Sunday, as kick-off had to be delayed by 75 minutes due to unruly fan behavior.
Prior to the start of the 2024 Copa America Final between Argentina and Colombia, ticketless fans stormed the gates of the Hard Knock and flooded into the stadium, leaving venue security so overwhelmed that when patrons with tickets did show up, they were unable to help them secure their seats.
The videos from the event are visceral as they show instances of stampedes, overcrowding, climbing over walls/through air vents, and more.
One particularly harrowing story comes from Karalyn Holden, the wife of former United States Men’s National Team and current Fox Soccer analyst/broadcaster Stu Holden.
On Twitter, Holden shared the frightening experience that she had with their 8-year-old kid, saying that people forcing their way through the gate kept “smashing” into her daughter’s face.
“Brought our 8yr old to the Copa America final last night & we got caught in the scary masses outside the stadium. When we got to SE Entry gate, there were 1000s of people waiting to get in, gates closed (this was 7pm) As we stood in the 90deg heat, bodies pressed against each other, I started to get an awful feeling,” Holden began.
“They kept pushing into my kid, trying to force their way 2 the front of the gate, which was still closed. It was so chaotic I was trying to stay aware and not on my phone. I felt so bad for Kenna who was so small, the bodies kept smashing into her face, I was in full mama bear mode. I looked over and a girl next to us looked so pale & when I asked her if she was okay, she said no and started to go down,” she continued.
“I caught her as she passed out, and landed on the ground. She was with someone in a wheelchair chair & couldn’t help her, I had her on my lap and was dumping the last of Kenna’s water on her to cool her down. No one else helped us. Her mom (I assume) came pushing through the crowd & helped me get her to her feet. They took the guy out of the wheelchair and put her in the seat. Mind you all of this is happening as we are body to body with people still trying to get around us, stepping over me while I’m helping her on the ground.”
Holden says that all of this happened within the first 15 minutes of being drawn into the crowd and were still stuck there for another 40 minutes.
“This all happened in the first 15 min of us in this crowd. We stood there for another 40 min… I stayed put for fear of the masses rushing the gates until I got an update. I saw that Euros 2020 documentary about that breach- I wasn’t f—— with a stampede… I am so angry with Conmebol for putting everyone in danger. There should have been a perimeter set up wayyyy outside the stadium. Take notes from FIFA. I’m thankful for the security guards who helped get us out of there. I know others weren’t as fortunate.”
Holden’s account certainly matches up with videos from the event, as our very own writer Jorge Alonso was in attendance at the match and experienced similar chaos when trying to enter the stadium.
Stampede to get into Hard Rock Stadium #copaamericafinals pic.twitter.com/7CZ4szyn1X
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) July 15, 2024
While the scenes out of the Copa America Final have caused some global soccer fans to question the United States’ ability to host the World Cup in 2026, the responsibility for organizing and securing the event falls on CONMEBOL (the South American Football Confederation), who are then provided assistance from local authorities.
As for the result of the match, Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 after extra time courtesy of a 112th-minute goal from Inter Milan strike Larturo Martinez.