A humble proposal to improve the product. Wouldn’t a real America’s Cup that includes all the countries of the continent be more attractive? Yes.
Ernesto Provitilo
24/06/2021 11:59 am
Parallel to the development of the Eurocup, our beloved America Cup. It came tumbling down, without headquarters, with renouncing countries, with a pandemic that was not at all controlled. Surely, the best thing would have been to postpone it, as requested by the Brazilian players themselves. But, beyond the mess, For a long time, the maximum competition at the level of the continent’s national teams has been a hymn to improvisation..
The Covid-19 did not allow this time that in a Copa América there are teams such as Qatar and Japan, with which we have the ten traditional casts of South America. While in Europe the abundance of teams led us to a competition with 24 teams, here we have the usual ten teams that are divided into two groups, where the first four go to the quarterfinals. The competitiveness is ridiculous. Is it possible to improve this? Sure, with agreements and decision, sure. It is not necessary to raise the call for participating teams so much, it is simply a matter of coordinating a competition strategy at various levels.
In principle, the calendar. The Copa América should be held at this time of year, every four years, simultaneously with the Euro. Not only because it is beneficial for the players, who mostly share the European season in the clubs, but also for the consumer of the product, who has football assured throughout the day: when the day in Europe ends, the day in America begins. Ideal.
The organization must be oriented towards promoting competition. A traditional system of four groups with four teams would give us the possibility that each game has the corresponding value. That is, there should be 16 teams that are part of a real America’s Cup. They could be the 10 South Americans of CONMEBOL to which the six best of CONCACAF join, according to the classification system that said confederation considers. In this way, we would ensure that we have the United States, Mexico and the Central American teams, why not Canada, who would raise the quality of the tournament and open up new markets for the demand for the product.
The venues must be in the same country, there must be a minimum of geographic criteria. The American continent is not the European one where the maximum distances are in four or five hours by plane. It would not be bad if it was always in the United States, fixed headquartersSince it has the infrastructure without costing it too much, it is an absolutely cosmopolitan place with large communities that live there, so the stadiums would always be full. And also, hitting a trip to the USA is a mass and they are the best for the show (?). But also, each country, with the time and the necessary organization, could of course mount a fucking event like this one, with what it also means in terms of tourism and economy.
What we propose is not crazy, it was done very recently. The 2016 Copa América Centenario, played in the United States, featured 16 teams. It was the tournament that had the most spectators in a Copa América, after the 2007 edition of Venezuela. The final, we remember, is not a pleasant memory, given the defeat with Chile on penalties, but it was still a great tournament and without a doubt , a quality competition, with excellent prizes.
That was something extraordinary, for the hundred years of the first South American contest. But without a doubt, this is the way. Not only because you raise the level of the two American national team competitions to a higher level, today the Copa América and the Gold Cup are discreet tournaments, but you also improve a product that translates into a much more attractive event, both to conquer it, as well as to sell and consume it. Presidents, Víctor Montagliani of CONCACAF and Alejandro Domínguez, of CONMEBOL, you have no excuses now that you read this (?): organize this tournament from 2024 onwards, it has everything to be a success.
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