2024 Copa América final in Miami Gardens
HARD ROCK STADIUM, MIA (July 14, 2024) –The 2024 Copa América final was an international soccer match to determine the winners of the CONMEBOL 2024 Copa América. The match was played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 14, 2024. Kickoff was delayed by over an hour and twenty minutes, due to overcrowding and other incidents which occurred near the stadium. Argentina and Colombia face each other in Florida for the title of this 48th edition of the national team tournament.
Shakira officially made her Copa America debut during the final match’s halftime show.
She performed four songs with backup dancers and robots. The extension of halftime from the traditional 15 minutes.
Defending champion Argentina defeated Colombia 1–0 after extra time to claim its record-breaking 16th Copa América title. The match was Argentina’s 30th final appearance, further extending its record, and was Colombia’s third Copa América final. Before the match, Argentina had won a joint-record 15 titles out of 29 finals, and Colombia’s most recent final win was in 2001. It was also Argentina’s third consecutive major tournament triumph, following wins in the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a streak previously only achieved by Spain (2008, 2010, and 2012) and Argentina itself (1945, 1946, and 1947).
The stadium was expected to be sold-out with a crowd of over 65,000 attendees At around 5:40 pm EDT, hours before the scheduled kickoff of 8:00 pm EDT, dozens of Colombia and Argentina fans jumped over security railings and ran past police officers into the stadium; a few tried to enter through the ventilation system.Several of the incidents occurred at the southwest gate dedicated to journalists, VIPs, and players’ families. In response, police officers locked the entrance gates. At around 8:10 pm EDT, stadium security re-opened the gates to avoid a crowd crush and to slowly allow ticket-holders into the stadium. Thousands of fans were prevented from entering the stadium due to the incidents.
Hard Rock Stadium issued a statement that “In anticipation of tonight’s Copa América final, thousands of fans without tickets attempted to forcibly enter the stadium, putting other fans, security and law enforcement officers at extreme risk. The start of the final match was delayed by 82 minutes until 9:22 pm EDT.
An estimated 7,000 people gained entry without tickets. Stadium security continued to check tickets of those inside the stadium and clear crowded aisles while the match was underway.
550 officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department were assigned to the match. Multiple arrests were made for trespassing and battery on a police officer. The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department set up an emergency station inside the stadium for fans suffering from heat exhaustion in the 88 °F (31 °C) heat.
