Chaos at Copa America final unlikely to be repeated during 2026 FIFA World Cup

The chaos outside the Copa America championship Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami sparked concerns about the United States’ readiness to host dozens more games in two years when the 2026 FIFA World Cup is staged in North America.

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It shouldn’t — at least not with respect to fans rushing the gate, overwhelming security and scaling stadium walls to enter game venues.

The World Cup and Copa America are soccer events, featuring some of the best players and the most passionate fans in the world, but security for the events — which are staged by entirely different entities — isn’t remotely similar.

“It’s totally different, especially the last one in Qatar,” Philippe Lechevin said. “The security was almost like going to the Capitol or the White House.”

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Levechin immigrated to the U.S. in 1994 from northeast France. He owns Buffalo State Pizza and has attended three World Cups — 30 years ago in the U.S., 2006 in Germany and 2022 in Qatar.

He was stunned to learn about the frenzy outside the Copa America final.

“When I saw footage on the news, I was like, ‘This is unheard of,’” Lechevin said. “I never saw that before.”

Fans, including many who didn’t have tickets, rushed the ticket gates. Some people fainted in the crush of fans, which was compounded by hot and humid conditions.

But that won’t be an issue for the World Cup, which mandates that the security perimeter for event venues is well away from the stadium entry points.

Only ticketed fans can get in the security line to get inside that perimeter. Another round of metal detectors and security personnel perform checks again before fans enter the venue.

“There were a couple metal detectors and there was a line where you just cannot run through, which was maybe 50 feet away from the entrance and you were just going as a serpentine,” Lechevin said.

He expressed a great deal more faith in FIFA’s ability to plan and secure an event compared with CONMEBOL’s.

“I think it’s got to do with who organized the tournament,” Lechevin said. “FIFA’s got things pretty square and they know how they want it to make sure (it’s safe). Security is a big thing for them. All three World Cups I’ve been to, I’ve never felt unsafe. It was fun. Nothing really happened.”

Kansas City hosted two Copa America games.

The U.S. played Uruguay on July 1 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in the group stage, losing 1-0 and crashing out of the tourney before the knockout rounds.

Canada and Peru played a group-stage game June 25 at Children’s Mercy Park.

There were no significant security incidents reported at either venue.

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