For the third time in history, the Copa América and the European Championship were held almost simultaneously, allowing for a comparison of the two main continental selection tournaments. In 2016, it was a novelty for the Americans as they were able to use the modern stadiums in the United States for the first time, and in 2021 everything was strange, with stadiums without spectators in Brazil due to COVID and in Europe with venues spread throughout the continent in a format that proved to be a failure.
The championships in 2024, on the other hand, provide a better basis for comparison, with the added appeal that the finals were held on the same day, July 14th.
What do the data and analysis say then? Which of the two was the best tournament?
Organization: Eurocup goal fest
UEFA has always been better, much better, than CONMEBOL at organizing competitions. Just look at the Champions League and the Copa Libertadores.
For the recent continental tournament, it was known in September 2018 that Germany would host the Euro 2024, which allowed them to have almost six years of work, while the host of the last Copa America tournament, which was supposed to take place in Ecuador, was only officially announced in January 2023.
In the presentation of the show, the difference is accentuated, with fields in excellent condition in Germany. On the contrary, the ones in the United States looked very bad in most stadiums, as they were NFL fields, and they added patches of natural grass just days before the games. Marcelo Bielsa even denounced this with great annoyance in a press conference.
Added to that are the security issues evidenced in the brawl that broke out in Charlotte between Uruguayan players and Colombian fans.
But the worst of the Copa America came in the final, with the unruly behavior of many fans, mostly wearing Colombia jerseys, who tried to force their way into the Miami stadium, even jumping over some fences. This forced the start of the match to be delayed by an hour and 20 minutes: a worldwide embarrassment for Conmebol under Alejandro Domínguez. The Euro 2024 final in Berlin was a nearly flawless celebration.
Public: won the Euro
The gigantic NFL stadiums, some with a capacity of over 80,000 people like the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, did not always look full, and that also affected the image of the Copa America. According to information from the newspaper La Tercera de Chile, in the first round, around 25% of the available tickets were not sold.
The image contrasts with the packed stadiums of the Euro 2024, which, according to the same source, only left 2.7% of tickets unsold.
The average attendance at the European Championsip was 52,138 spectators, compared to 48,955 at the Copa America.
Excitement: another victory in the Eurocup
The European tournament was much tight, even the debutant Georgia was able to advance to the round of 16. No team in the Euro 2024 ended with zero points and all of them scored at least one goal. In the Copa America, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Jamaica lost all three of their matches, while Chile and Peru said goodbye without scoring a goal in 270 minutes.
In addition to that, there is the format. In the Conmebol championship, there are no extra time periods, except in the final, which diminishes any capacity for excitement.
The most emotional match in the Copa America? Argentina vs Ecuador in the quarterfinals and the final between Argentinians and Colombians (the only match that could be played with extra time). And in the Euro? There are several to choose from, like Spain vs Germany in the quarterfinals, England vs the Netherlands in the semis, the final between Spain and England, and especially England vs Slovakia in the round of 16.
Figures: tie
In this aspect there were no major differences. Neither of the two tournaments had standout figures. In Euro 2024, they chose a midfielder, Spanish Rodri, as the best player of a tournament where champions Fabián Ruiz and youth player Lamine Yamal also stood out. Anyone else besides Spain? Dutch player Cody Gakpo also had a very good tournament.
On this side of the Atlantic, the Colombian James Rodríguez shone. Another standout name was the Venezuelan Salomón Rondón, but he was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Lionel Messi displayed his tactical intelligence and influence, although not at the level of his best years.
Impact: Euro triumph
The higher level of organization, spectacle, and excitement led to the Euros having a greater media and communication impact than the Copa America.
In any case, there is an objective factor, in the United States they preferred to watch Euro 2024 over the Copa America. For example, the two semifinal matches had an average of 3,080,000 viewers on FOX, while 2,067,000 watched on TV on Fox Sports 1 the matches that defined the finalists in the Conmebol tournament. Up to the semifinals, the Eurocup averaged 1.5 million viewers on FOX and FS1, while the Copa America accumulated 1.2 million viewers on FOX, FS1, and FS2.