The Copa America final between Colombia and Argentina in Miami was a highly anticipated match with tons of fans flocking to South Florida to support the two South American sides. Unfortunately, the security situation at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium was not prepared for the flood of people coming to the game and a number of fans breached security and pushed their way through security into the stadium.
BREAKING: The gates at Hard Rock Stadium have been breached and scores of fans have begun streaming in for the 2024 #CopaAmerica final. Police are scrambling to try and stem the flow of people. pic.twitter.com/fkoMMYGk8K
— Kyle Bonn (@the_bonnfire) July 14, 2024
¡Portazo en la final!
Lamentables imágenes en lo que debería de ser una fiesta total de la Copa América.
Las autoridades se han visto rebasadas por el número de aficionados que han asistido al #HardRockStadium #FinalDeVerano #LaSensacionDelVerano pic.twitter.com/ZUynVgInzf
— TV Azteca Deportes (@AztecaDeportes) July 15, 2024
Police and security personnel were chasing down those that came into the game without tickets and police made a number of arrests.
Update: Arrests being made at the Copa America final after dozens of people stormed security at Hard Rock Stadium
| #ONLYinDADE #CopaAmerica pic.twitter.com/2ie6jL1Y8L
— ONLY in DADE (@ONLYinDADE) July 14, 2024
After the initial breach, they shut down most gates and funneled fans to only one open gate, leading to further issues and an awful lot of angry fans that had paid big money for tickets to the match.
Copa América security. One gate open in SW corner, 90 mins before kick-off. Thousands of very hot fans out there. Problem waiting to happen. Not good pic.twitter.com/glEgYV2VAG
— Jack Lang (@jacklang) July 14, 2024
Chaotic scenes at Copa America final. Hundreds of fans still not being let in after three times gates were opened but turnstiles were rushed by fans. Nearly two hours after gates were supposed to open pic.twitter.com/uyWI6K2dvB
— Simon Evans (@sgevans) July 14, 2024
The 8:00 p.m. ET start time got delayed, as they announced they wouldn’t start the game until the fans without tickets left the stadium, with FOX stating the expected start time was being moved to 8:30 p.m. ET.
BREAKING
On the broadcast “The game will not start until the fans without tickets leave.”#CopaAmerica
— Favian Renkel (@FavianRenkel) July 14, 2024
Kickoff of the Copa América Final between Colombia and Argentina has been delayed due to fans rushing the gates at Hard Rock Stadium.
Current expected kickoff time is 8:30pm ET, but stay tuned for updates.
More info
https://t.co/wS5EiIBmg0
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 15, 2024
And then, they just…stopped checking tickets and letting everyone into the stadium as fans had been unable to get into the game and it was decided to just let the flood of people into the building no matter what.
They’ve opened the gates and let everyone in without checking tickets. The situation was dire. pic.twitter.com/EfpA2l4uuC
— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) July 15, 2024
And after all that they just let everyone in with no ticket checks. Unbelievable pic.twitter.com/t9S6dwBJAs
— Simon Evans (@sgevans) July 15, 2024
While NFL games and college football games draw big and at times rowdy crowds, international soccer is a completely different animal and it’s clear the organizers did not adequately prepare for that and the result was a disaster in Miami. With the United States serving as the World Cup hosts in a couple years, there’s going to need to be some serious lessons learned from the Copa America final when it comes to planning for the masses that will be making their way here for the World Cup.