New Tournament Record Set for Total and Average Attendance, Television Viewership and Digital/Social Media Engagement

NEW YORK (Friday, June 24, 2016) – CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and Copa America Local Organizing Committee (LOC) officials announced today that this year’s tournament will set new records for total and average attendance, television viewership in the United States and throughout the world, and digital and social media engagement. Heading into the 2016 Copa America Centenario Final featuring FIFA World No. 1-ranked Argentina vs. No. 5-ranked Chile on Sunday, June 26, in front of more than 81,000 fans at MetLife Stadium, 

Featuring breathtaking goals by many of the world’s top stars, Copa America Centenario, which celebrates 100 years of the oldest national team tournament around the world, has entertained millions of soccer fans in the United States, Latin America and throughout the world with great quality on the pitch, in the way of 90 goals (3.0 goals per match) prior to the Finals weekend. Boasting five-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi of Argentina, the Final on Sunday will also feature Italian Serie A leading scorer Gonzalo Higuaín (Argentina), tournament leading scorer Eduardo Vargas (Chile) and one of the top players in the English Premier League, Alexis Sánchez (Chile).

When the tournament concludes on Sunday, nearly 1.5 million fans will have attended the 32 Copa America Centenario games across 10 venues in the United States, for an average of more than 46,000 fans per game, making it the most attended Copa America in the tournament’s 100-year history, as well as the second highest-attended official single-game soccer tournament played in the United States, behind only the 1994 FIFA World Cup (in which 20 more games were played).  

Along with record setting attendance, Copa America Centenario – a tournament to which CONMEBOL invited six qualifiers from the CONCACAF region, and also featured eight teams that reached the Round of 16 in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil – has delivered impressive television ratings in the United States as more than 100 million viewers have watched games on the Univision and FOX networks, including the most-watched men’s soccer match in the history of FS1 for the USA vs. Argentina Semifinal match in Houston earlier this week on Tuesday, June 21. Copa America Centenario has also delivered record ratings for Univision Deportes, with the group stage drawing a larger audience than the group stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.  Internationally, Copa America Centenario has been televised in more than 160 countries around the world, reaching more than 1.5 billion households.

Copa America Centenario has also set records on digital platforms, as the USA vs. Argentina match on FOX Sports GO was the most-viewed authenticated event in the network’s history. Social media engagement has skyrocketed, as the tournament has seen more than 3.5 million users across all social media platforms, surpassing the 2015 Copa America in Chile.  In addition, 15 blue-chip corporate partners have utilized the Copa America brand to create unique marketing campaigns and memorable experiences that have resonated with consumers.  

“We are thrilled to have honored and celebrated 100 years of South American soccer with this centennial event, which has united the Americas around this wonderful sport and through an entertaining and competitive sporting event of the first order,” said Alejandro Dominguez, president of CONMEBOL. “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 behavior. We thank CONCACAF, the Local Organizing Committee, and the soccer community at large for helping make this event a success. Looking ahead towards the future, CONMEBOL will continue to promote the development of soccer in the entire hemisphere.” 

“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,” said Victor Montagliani, president of CONCACAF.  “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.”

“First, I’d like to thank both CONMEBOL and CONCACAF for all of their efforts in putting on a great tournament over the past month. With their support, and the amazing work by the LOC staff, we were once again able to showcase that the United States has the ability to host big-time international sporting events as well as anyone in the world,” said Sunil Gulati, LOC Chairman and U.S. Soccer President. “We all knew this tournament had great potential both on the field and off, and I’m happy to say that we were able to come together and provide the millions of fans both in the stadiums and around the world with a fantastic experience during Copa America Centenario. We are looking forward to the Third Place match on Saturday and the Final on Sunday evening, which promises to be one of the great international sporting events in the history of the United States.”

Held for the first time outside of South America as CONMEBOL commemorated the competition’s 100-year anniversary, Copa America Centenario featured an expanded field of 16 teams including the traditional 10 teams from CONMEBOL along with CONCACAF nations Costa Rica, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama and the host United States as special guests. Tournament participants included soccer powerhouses who have combined for nine World Cup titles, and five of the current top 10 nations per the latest FIFA world rankings.  

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IMAGE: Argentina midfielder Lionel Messi (10) before the match against the United States in the semifinals of the 2016 Copa America Centenario soccer tournament at NRG Stadium on June 21. (Kevin Jaira | USA TODAY Sports)