After watching the CONCACAF Nations League finals last night, I don't know if there are any world class team in CONCACAF. The US is ok and getting a little better, but the other teams in CONCACAF have all taken a step back. CONMEBOL has actually improved, but CONCACAF is lacking quality. The idea of combining all the Americas under one international cup has lost its appeal imo. I watched the Mexican press last night make all kinds of excuses; lack of "investment", they "don't schedule enough friendlies against top national teams" etc. But the truth is that they just don't have quality players. They don't exists. The only reason to combined South & North America is so that CONMEBOL can have direct access to the US market$ - but it won't do anything to elevate the game.
They need to wait to see how good the MLS gets, how good the Concacaf Champions Cup gets. Getting into the Club World Cup will be a much bigger deal to non-European clubs. But it's hard to see one of the 20 non-European clubs winning the club next year. It will be fun to watch that play out, to see who plays with the most intensity, I am looking at the Japanese and Saudi clubs being the most psyched up for it. MLS clubs might come to dominate the Champions League. Mexican and other Central American clubs might see their homegrown talent go to MLS. This could REALLY screw up Mexican football. I could see a time when the big clubs of Mexico join the MLS. MASSIVE changes are coming to football. In Europe, Africa (a super league), North and South America. The Club World Cup might change things. If it is a success, I could see it being played every three years, maybe even every two years. MLS will vastly improve over time, but I wonder if Mexico will diminish? U.S. national team can improve, but they'll need great managers and coaches.
oh God. This sounds more and more like the streaming wars. At first, everything came a neatly create package called "Cable TV" - then they started to defragment and a million streaming services were created. And then they realize that not all streaming services can remain profitable, and we are starting to see "bundling" - I used to think that combining CONMEBOL and CONCACAF in one continental cup was the way to go, but I don't know. If it becomes a tournament that Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay/Colombia/Ecuador/Chile will win it every time, it won't be fun for CONCACAF and just like I do with my girlfriend, the US will pull out.
It was a stoke of genius by MLS to give Apple TV worldwide rights to all MLS matches. For $12 per month, anyone in the world with an internet connection can watch EVERY SINGLE MLS game. That makes things so simple, no messy contracts. Apple are a $3 TRILLION company, they don't invest in bad products, bad brands, they KNOW that soccer is going to be bigger than the NFL eventually. The NFL is beginning to be perceived as ridiculous, one dimensional, even rigged. Girls, women are more into soccer than NFL/NBA, so the sexiness of soccer to females will be targeted this decade. Copa Libertadores will remain, it's a great cup, I just wish that Argentinian clubs would get better, Colombian clubs, too and beat the Brazilians, they are dominating too much now. Maybe a tournament in December where the 8 quarter finalists of the Concacaf Champions Cup and the 8 quarter finalists of the Copa Libertadores played in a single-match Round of 16. That would be fun! I don't know, things are up in the air right now with football, as with life in general, we have to see how the Club World Cup works out - 36-team Swiss System UEFA cups, African Super League, 48-team World Cup, etc. By 2027, we'll know where things are heading...
2024 Copa América Schedule: Dates, TV channel and how to watch. Here's everything you need to know ahead of the 2024 Copa América, which will be hosted by 14 cities across the United States from June 20 to July 14 and broadcast on the FOX family of networks. https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/2024-copa-america-draw-date-groups-channel-and-how-to-watch
Copa America is being shown in the UK on Viaplay. UK kick-off times, June UK kick-off times, July It can be a bit confusing for British/European viewers with the multiple time-zones of USA!
So the questions that remain are, when are the final's tickets going on sale and how do we sign up for the early sales list? I saw that Hard Rock Stadium is accepting early deposits for luxury tix and suites, but nothing for the stands.
I think the merger talks have mostly cooled since the whole corruption scandals, there might still be some bad blood at the muckraking Americans. Not to mention increasing air travel costs. So even if they could get around the 25+ minnows who would never vote for it, I don't see it happening any time soon. But joint tournaments like this (and that touted Copa Interamericana revival) to take advantage of Messimania are definitely a go. I'd love to see a 24-team Copa but you'd have to invite a few teams teams. Japan and Australia both have Copa pedigree, while a West African team would be an interesting wild card (or Morocco who were briefly rumoured to be coming)
Welcome to the thread's new home, this is a CONMEBOL tournament after all - at least nominally... I'll be there in Atlanta cheering on CanMNT anyway. Mods, I'd be remiss if I didn't note the more active thread in FIFA and tournaments https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/copa-america-2024-general-thread.2123000/ might be better to redirect the traffic there
only games near me are the semis in NY the tickets are $500 next to the goalies.... people seriously dropping this type of money before knowing the teams playing? I assume the hope from most is a 50/50 shot at seeing Messi as no real big Brazilian star other than Vini who dont think has that star power yet.