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Like many Argentinians in Miami, Graciela Garcia loves soccer. When world champion Lionel Messi plays with his national team, she puts on her “albiceleste” jersey, prepares a barbecue, and watches the matches on television.
She describes herself as a “super-fan” of the national team, which is why when tickets for the Copa América final between Argentina and Colombia at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium went on sale, she immediately bought two to go with her daughter.
“Finally being able to see Messi play live with Argentina alongside my daughter was going to be a dream come true.”
But the dream turned into a nightmare on the afternoon of the final, July 14, 2024.
Graciela experienced chaos where she felt her safety and her daughter’s were compromised due to disturbances before the game caused by crowds trying to enter without tickets.
Images of people fighting and jumping over stadium gates went viral worldwide and left fans like Graciela with one question in mind:
“This can’t happen at a World Cup, and I don’t know how FIFA sees this, if they’re not scared, and if they really wonder if Miami is ready to host a World Cup.”
And Now Comes the World Cup
Three years ago, Miami was chosen by FIFA as one of the sixteen host cities for the World Cup, which will take place in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Seven matches, including a quarter-final and the third-place playoff, will be played at Hard Rock Stadium.
Due to the revenue generated by the World Cup, Miami-Dade County will spend a total of $46 million of taxpayer money to be a host city. The potential return on investment is significant, as Miami-Dade is expected to receive 600,000 visitors and generate an economic impact of $1.5 billion during the month of July.
Although Miami is familiar with major sporting events like Super Bowls, NASCAR races, Formula One, and international tennis tournaments, it doesn’t have much experience hosting international soccer tournaments. These are longer and tend to attract global fans, which, according to Dr. Jesse Spearo, Deputy Director of Miami-Dade’s Emergency Management Department, requires deeper planning.
“When we first learned that we were going to be a host city and we started to analyze some of the challenges that other jurisdictions have faced, as well as the culture of soccer itself, we said: this is not a Super Bowl. We cannot approach this as if it were a Super Bowl. We cannot take a ‘business as usual’ attitude, ‘we’ve done this our whole lives.’ We are a high-impact, highly functional, and highly capable region. We need to focus on this as if we’ve never done something like this before. And it took a little while to get people to really understand the gravity of that.”
That is something Alina Hudak, CEO of the Miami 2026 organizing committee, understands well because of what it represents for the region.
“This is a legacy moment for us in South Florida, but it’s also an opportunity for all of us to be part of something historic for Miami. We are blessed to have a quarter-final and the third-place match here.”
For Dr. Spearo, something that needs to be taken into account as a host city is the culture of the soccer fan.
“[That] is the new piece that comes into this equation, something that Miami-Dade County and the United States are simply not used to, you know, that very passionate fan base that is excited, as if it were the blood and bones of their team, of their nation playing soccer.”
It’s because of this passion that Dr. Spearo, county officials, and FIFA are very mindful of what happened in last year’s Copa América final, and are working hard to prevent it from happening again.
Chaos at Hard Rock
The Copa América is a South American soccer tournament played between national teams to determine the continental champion. It has only been played outside of South America twice, both times in the United States.
The first was in celebration of its centenary in 2016, followed by the 2024 edition, where Miami was selected to host the final match after not participating in 2016.
Not even Hollywood could have written a better script for this final: Argentina and Colombia, two arch-rival national teams with large fan bases in Miami, and where Messi, the best player in the world, would play. Miami’s new adopted son was going to play the Copa América final, possibly his last, in his adopted city after being crowned world champion with Argentina in the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
The match was made for Miami and its thousands of Colombian and Argentinian immigrants, and for the fans who traveled from South America to see the game. For fans like Graciela, this was an unmissable match, but what the world saw that afternoon was very different from the Hollywood script the city would have wanted to highlight.
Fans of both national teams arrived at the stadium gates without tickets, trying to force their way in. According to Miami-Dade police, 55 people were ejected from the stadium and 27 were arrested, including the president of the Colombian Football Federation, Ramón Jesurun, and his son. Both were arrested for alleged assault, and the charges were dropped shortly after. It was a security void for Hard Rock, CONMEBOL (the South American soccer federation in charge of the event), and for Miami, which now has to prove it’s up to the task of hosting a World Cup. Caplin News obtained a video showing two Argentinian fans apparently trying to bribe a guard to enter without a ticket, an example of the challenges that were exposed—and that must now be resolved with an eye toward the World Cup. (Caplin News requested comment from Hard Rock, but no response had been received at the time of publication.)
But this didn’t just affect fans; it also impacted the press who were there covering the match. Experienced sports journalist Verónica Brunatti traveled to Miami to cover the match for Argentinian television, but she couldn’t get in and work.
“Even with the career I have as a journalist, I had to watch it from the Fan Fest (official party for fans without tickets). The match ended, but I didn’t try to enter the stadium again because the gates were completely closed. Nobody listened to you, nobody listened to your complaint, nobody. Even if you showed them the tickets, nobody would open the gates. I also understand that it was a security order because the stadium was over capacity, but I couldn’t work until the match ended. When the match ended, I had to work in the vicinity of the stadium without having been able to see the entire match, having seen, let’s say, half the match at the Fan Fest. That’s how I worked.”
For Brunatti, this experience should serve as a warning to the organizers of the FIFA World Cup in 2026.
“Nobody wants to go to a stadium where fans can’t enjoy themselves.”
Hard Rock Stadium offered no comment regarding their security planning for the World Cup, and Miami-Dade police said that at the moment “everything is very preliminary and we would not like to give information that is still fluidly changing. We are in constant meetings with various entities and stakeholders of the event as we continue to prepare.”
Lessons and Responsibilities
Dr. Spearo believes this will be the biggest event in Miami’s history, and he understands the importance of projecting a good international image.
“What we want is for people to come to Miami-Dade County to enjoy these matches. We want people to be safe in Miami-Dade County and throughout the region, but we also want them to leave thinking: ‘It was a great event. We enjoyed it. We enjoyed our time here in Miami. We enjoyed our time in the region and in the United States.'”
That’s why he says it’s necessary to work with FIFA and include the security protocols established by them, as the organization has more experience than the county with events of this type.
One of these key protocols is the implementation of an outer perimeter at the stadiums. This perimeter not only controls access but also creates a buffer zone between the stadium and potential external threats. It is in this space that the first verification of tickets, credentials, and inspection and search procedures for both pedestrians and vehicles are carried out.
These protocols are used by FIFA in all its international soccer tournaments, but they were not established by CONMEBOL or Hard Rock Stadium for the Copa América final. Something that could have prevented the disturbances, according to Ed Maldonado, a global security expert for sporting events.
“If I had to identify what the problem was, it would probably be the lack of planning and not trying to reinforce the outer perimeter (of the stadium) to do proper control. That preliminary control is key: effectively securing that perimeter so that no one can advance beyond it without having a physical ticket in hand.”
Maldonado was head of global security for over a decade at the Telemundo network, and he knows intimately how plans are formed around global events like the Olympic Games and FIFA tournaments, as Telemundo broadcasts those sporting events.
“What FIFA traditionally does is they always organize some kind of test event to evaluate their venues and see if their traffic plan is working, to identify where the problems are. Now we’re going to have the Club World Cup in many of the stadiums that will host World Cup matches; that’s an opportunity to practice, learn, and train.”
According to Maldonado, the plan must include all other cities participating, observing how security practices are handled at each venue. “That way, they can all improve and adopt a unified approach to security management for these events.”
Dr. Spearo assures that this is already underway in Miami-Dade. The county was the first host city to offer FEMA, the federal emergency management agency, classes to several of its departments.
“It’s a set of eight classes, between 2 and 3 days long, that focus on crowd management, incident management, operational components, public information, and alerts. Those are some of the classes we’re offering. And we were the first host city in North America to request and get those classes.”
In addition to FEMA classes, Dr. Spearo and his team have another area of study—sports history.
“These are events that have had the greatest loss of human lives due to stampedes, riots, or other related disasters. Of the top 25, 13 are linked to soccer. So we are focusing on those past events, learning from them, and applying those concepts, those after-action reports, to ensure that Miami-Dade County is very well prepared. I believe last year’s Copa América was a learning opportunity, not just for us, but for everyone globally and for the sports and special events industry in general.”
The World Cup Party is Coming
This World Cup marks the return of the magnificent soccer event to the United States after more than 30 years, three decades that have seen soccer grow in popularity due to factors such as the inauguration of the MLS league in 1996 and Latin American immigration.
FIFA believes the impact of the World Cup “will be global,” according to President Gianni Infantino.
“The Super Bowl, which is fantastic, has what? — 120-130 million viewers? The World Cup has six billion viewers. One World Cup is equivalent to 104 Super Bowls in a month. That’s three Super Bowls a day.”
This is something that, according to Maldonado, organizers must take into account, as soccer passions are not the same as those experienced in American sports leagues like the NFL or NBA, and incidents like what happened in 2024 at the Copa América can be unleashed.
“It’s a different audience, with completely different dynamics. As we saw with the Copa América in Miami, people are going to go to the stadium, whether they have a ticket or not, and they’re going to do everything possible to get in. What I’ve done in previous World Cups, for example, is implement risk metrics to evaluate each team and the rivalries they may have. Analyze what kind of matches they’ve played before, how their fans have reacted in previous confrontations.”
For its part, FIFA knows the importance of everything going well, which is why it has made changes for this World Cup. The organization previously left security functions and event planning in the hands of local entities. However, this will be the first tournament in which the organizing body will directly oversee these processes. External experts are also being brought in to work in conjunction with local specialists.
This new collaboration represents a significant change, as decisions made at the local level can have an impact on the overall development of the tournament. The adopted security vision was developed after FIFA officials identified common elements in the special event planning strategies of each host city.
As a result, all cities agreed on shared objectives and strategies that now serve as the basis for the World Cup security plan, something Dr. Spearo says makes a lot of sense.
“It’s a one-team approach, where what we’re doing in Miami-Dade is the same as what they’ll be doing in Texas, in Vancouver, in Mexico City, and in Atlanta. Everyone will be doing the same thing. And we’ve all agreed that’s the best way to do it. We’re going to plan together. We’re going to prepare together. We’re going to train and do drills together, using a One World Cup approach. And that has been our driving force.”
Almost There
In 2026, the eyes of the world will fall on Miami, a city that in a very short time has become one of the meccas of soccer due to the 2023 arrival of Messi to the ranks of Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami team. Messi’s Argentinian national team arrives at this upcoming World Cup as defending champions, and if the city were to host one of its seven matches featuring its prodigal son, the potential history and visuals represent another step for the city to be placed alongside great soccer cities such as Buenos Aires, Madrid, and London.
That’s why there’s a lot of pressure, but there’s also a lot of confidence that everything will go well, especially from Dr. Spearo, who believes that the planning has prepared them for any challenge that arises.
“We have already received information and intelligence related to the ongoing Club World Cup matches, including data on fan bases and what we can expect based on previous events. This allows us to prepare months in advance, something we didn’t have before. It’s a great opportunity to focus our efforts on specific threats and risks. We are especially attentive to December 2025, when the preliminary schedule for the 2026 World Cup will be published, to identify which teams will play in Miami-Dade.”
When that happens, he affirms, they will have at least six months’ anticipation to analyze those teams and monitor other matches in North America, evaluating any threats or trends.
“As we advance to the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, we will know everything possible about those teams, their fan bases, and any incidents that occurred in other matches, thus ensuring optimal preparation.”
Meanwhile, the city is getting dressed up to receive the World Cup. In March, Miami’s official host city poster, designed by Brazilian artist Rubem Robierb, was unveiled, and in June, Messi’s Inter Miami will kick off the Club World Cup against Al Ahly FC at Hard Rock Stadium.
For soccer fans like Graciela, Miami must understand that this tournament is unique.
“Next year I have another opportunity to possibly see Messi and my flag fly. We’ll see if I go. But anyway, I hope the city is ready, or at least they have a plan to handle the tide of people. Because if Messi scores a goal, the streets of Miami are going to turn into a carnival.”
Graciela still keeps her Copa América tickets, not as a memory of a fulfilled dream, but as proof of a broken promise. And if Miami wants to convince the world that it’s ready to host the biggest event on the planet, it will have to prove it not with speeches, but with actions.
