What does Copa America tell us about football in the US?
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 12 July 2024
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Copa America was supposed to be a dress rehearsal for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But sacked coaches, a brawl, and an early exit for the United States threaten to overshadow the Lionel Messi mania ahead of the final between Argentina and Colombia in Miami. Where does football in the US go from here?
In this episode:
- Jon Arnold (@arnoldcommajon), Football Writer, Getting CONCACAFed
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Ashish Malhotra and Mohammed Zain Shafi Khan, with Duha Mosaad, Manahil Naveed, Veronique Eshaya, and our host Malika Bilal. It was edited by Alexandra Locke.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Joe Plourde mixed this episode. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.
Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.
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@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:09.7 | Today, the Copa America. |
| 0:14.1 | It's a star-studded football tournament being hosted in the U.S. |
| 0:18.4 | But coaches have been fired, many stadiums haven't filled up, |
| 0:22.2 | and one of the semifinals ended with a brawl between players and fans. |
| 0:29.1 | So has the tournament been a PR disaster for football in the U.S.? |
| 0:33.8 | I'm Malika Bilal, and this is The Take. |
| 0:45.5 | For those of you who aren't familiar with the Copa America, it's South America's |
| 0:50.2 | football championship, and historically, the teams in it are only from South America. |
| 0:55.7 | But this year's Copa also has countries from North America and the Caribbean. |
| 1:00.4 | Teams like Mexico, the US, Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica. |
| 1:04.0 | And it's been happening all across the United States. |
| 1:10.0 | It's a dress rehearsal of sorts for the 2026 World Cup, |
| 1:14.4 | which will be hosted by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. |
| 1:18.0 | The final is on Sunday. |
| 1:20.1 | And whether you're a fan or not, |
| 1:22.4 | you've probably heard of one player who'll be there. |
| 1:25.2 | The best player of the world, |
| 1:28.3 | the best of the world, |
| 1:31.3 | Leo Messi, |
| 1:33.3 | champion of the world. |
| 1:34.3 | At the age of 37, |
... |
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