Euros Shine While Copa America Faces Controversy
Amidst the talk of the Olympics and the U.S.’s gold medal in basketball, two soccer tournaments have gone unnoticed by the majority of the American public. The European Football Championship, or Euros, and Copa America are two tournaments that happen every four years. These international soccer tournaments are historically comparable to the World Cup, yielding intense matches between the best players from every nation. Despite the incredible quality of play shown in these tournaments, they are not nearly as popular with the American public.
Aside from their popularity in the US, were these tournaments any good? What stood out? And what makes them so popular outside America? This summer, both the Copas and Euros occurred simultaneously, which made the Summer of 2024 stand out in the world of soccer.
“It was incredibly exciting to have both at the same time. And the U.S. isn't usually involved in Copa America, so it's not as accessible to watch. Having that much quality [soccer] on at the same time was incredibly exciting,” Athenian soccer coach Adam Thorman said.
However, with two major tournaments happening concurrently, there were always going to be flaws. Adam pointed out one of the glaring controversies: “In the Euros, the level of play is super high, and the tournament is run relatively well, I feel like it's always that way. This was a really good one. This year [Euros] also stood out even more in contrast to the Copa America, which was so terribly run.” He continued, “The fields were badly maintained, and players were slipping. It was more obvious because if you were a big fan, you would watch the Euros in the morning with these beautiful and pristine fields, and in the evening you would watch the Copa America.”
This year, even though the Copa America tournament occurred in the United States, it was still overlooked by sports fans nationwide. According to Fox Sports, the average NBA regular season game has roughly 1.5 million views. In comparison, the average Copa match has about 1.4 million views, even though the NBA has over 1200 games in the regular season, and the Copa only has 32 total games, which occur every four years. This is due to soccer's lack of popularity in the U.S. compared to other countries. With many other sports more popular in the U.S., it is hard for people to get invested in a sport that is of such low quality in organization and competitive prowess.
The flaws at Copa America were so significant that they impeded the soccer itself. “The lack of security when the Uruguayan players, including Darwin Nunez, a major player in [soccer] went into the stands because their families were being threatened by Colombian fans in the game. I think a lot of soccer fans left that tournament not thinking about the game on the field, but the problems behind the scenes,” said Adam.
Besides the lack of quality in the organization of the tournament, there was another thing on many fans' minds coming out of this competition. Gregg Berhalter, the former coach of the U.S. men's national team, who had a subpar performance at the 2022 World Cup, was controversially rehired in 2023 and continued to bring, what many considered, only mediocrity. Adam, an avid USMNT (United States Men’s National Team) fan, summed up the disappointment, “He hasn’t been coaching the team well, and we shouldn’t be satisfied with mediocre finishes. We’ve become a team that beats weaker opponents but loses to stronger ones. This keeps us stuck in mediocrity, even though in the past, the U.S. performed better, sometimes with theoretically less talented players.” After another unsatisfying performance in the Copa America, Berhalter was fired. But many fans still have a bitter taste in their mouths, now feeling unprepared for the 2026 World Cup.
Thankfully, The European Football Championship did not disappoint. This Championship yielded many unexpected upsets and star players in a hectic tournament of rising stars' debuts and the sendoffs of seasoned veterans. The winner of the tournament, Spain, was one team who played very well throughout the tournament. Spain has always been good in world soccer, but they also seem to be adapting very well to the new rising talents available to them. Talents like Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal have made waves across the soccer community for their unexpected success despite their young age of 22 and 17, respectively. Even to many Americans, the difference in quality at the Euros was clear. Despite the Euros being hosted all the way in Germany, they still averaged more American viewers than the Copa, despite its taking place on American ground.
