I said before that CONMEBOL would look to more avenues to cash in on the US market. Even La Liga in Spain is trying to go over the heads of their own players, fans and even federation to do this. There are no perfect solutions but feds and Confeds need money to grow. It's only a question of how it is spent. For all that it may trouble South Americans, as a fan of African football I am envious that this avenue of potential is even available to you because I doubt it will be available to us in the next decade if ever. As I said before, it always depends on how any windfall is reinvested... On that note most fans from CONMEBOL nations seem to express scepticism. So I guess it depends but at least you have a commodity to sell... It is dicey bc I say take the money opportunities but don't do what Liga MX did and change your competative structure to cater to potential fans. I guess my opinion is a bit here and there. There are all sorts of potential positives and obvious downsides to this.
Concacaf is not going to voluntarily give up having Gold Cups. The only way the Gold Cup ends is with confederations merging. You have to think about the Concacaf teams that qualify for the Gold Cup but aren't among the 6 to qualify for a 16 team Copa America. Those teams are unlikely to win the Gold Cup, but they shouldn't be deprived of playing in Gold Cups because better Concacaf teams play in the Copa America.
All I know is that having four (FIFA protected) Copa America tournaments in a time span of six years is absolutely ridiculous. Hey CONMEBOL - why not organize one every year!
Just like UEFA has many advantages for being a large confederation with huge nations as members, having only ten nations gives Conmebol pliability and they are within their rights to exercise it. Whatever Switzerland (LOL) thinks is completely irrelevant.
Why not have a 24 team Copa America every four years? UEFA, CAF, and AFC have all expanded their continental championships to 24 teams so why not have Concacaf and Conmebol do the same? You'd only need qualifiers for the last three or four spots between Central American and Caribbean countries.
Actually, that would be a pretty good idea.... I don't think that Uefa clubs, forced to release their best players all summers, would like it though
Because something like that could only make serious profit in the United States. El Salvador -Venezuela in La Paz would get like 1000 people in the stands.
Maybe its just me but I thought Copa America became more interesting when it was held only once every 4 years. It was something to look forward to. I remember where I was when I watched certain games. I'll watch every group stage game because it only comes around every 4 years. But now that the tournament is played almost every year, viewer-fatigue is setting-in. No big deal if you get eliminated from Copa cuz you'll have another chance in a matter of months. Frankly, there are better things to do on a summer afternoon than watching Qatar v Ecuador.
I think most people see the Copa in South America as the "true" Copa. The one held in the USA in the same year as the Euro is way better than friendlies but more of a novelty sort of thing.
Considering Bolivia and several other South American countries have hosted the Copa as many times as the U.S. has, I don't think they'd be a realistic option for an expanded 24 team tournament. But having a combined tournament every four years could certainly be rotated between North America and a few South American countries, and the real profit wouldn't be measured in attendance numbers but on sponsorship and television ratings, which have already proven to be much better based on the 2016 Copa.
Eh...with the current exodus from Venezuela, their NT could get a good crowd just about anywhere in Latin America right now
I know that the Television contract would be the main money maker. That is not the point. The point is a 24 team tournament is not realistic outside of the USA and UNivision paying the big bucks.
The stadium looks half empty when Venezuela face Bolivia in La Paz for Qualifiers There's not too many that would show up for EL Salvador - Venezuela.
Things have changed a lot in the last couple years...there are now Venezuelans everywhere in South America & Panama. From personal experience: go anywhere in Lima, and the entry-level workers (e.g. waiter, hairdresser) are most likely Venezuelan. Hell, the last time I visited Camaná (a small town 3 hrs from Arequipa), the ice cream shop in the center square had replaced their waiters with Venezuelans. It's a running joke down there that Peru will be the away team the next time Venezuela visits
I don't follow why rotating a joint tournament would be unrealistic. Brazil received great reviews for the 2014 World Cup and is hosting the 2019 Copa America, so why wouldn't they be capable of staging it? Argentina has put forward 12 stadiums that would be available as part of a joint bid for the 2030 World Cup, so they obviously have the infrastructure. Mexico has hosted World Cups and have the fan base and stadiums also. Just because they don't care about hosting a Gold Cup doesn't mean that the federation and the fans wouldn't support hosting a Copa. And a joint tournament would bring much more interest from media companies than a Gold Cup or a Conmebol Copa. I wouldn't be surprised if ESPN and Fox Sports would have a bidding war for hosting rights after the 2016 version broke viewership records. My guess is the ratings in the U.S. would be higher for a joint Copa America than they would be for the Euro's. Even assuming that what you mentioned was true, I feel confident the majority of fans would rather see one joint tournament in the U.S. every four years than a Gold Cup every two years.
Many fans in South America would rather revert back to a 10 team Copa America not expand to a 24 team tournament with a bunch of CONCACAF teams. Just ask may of the fans around here. Also, Souht American Federations have been waiting patiently many years to host a Copa America with the current rotation. You will make them wait even more decades to host with your proposed system which is simply not fair to them and not justified because now they would have to guarantee safety, training facilities, infrastructure and stadiums for 24 teams. Just not realistic but a nice idealistic pie in the sky type thing on your behalf. Television Networks like Univision and Fox Sports pay more money when it is played in the USA and would push for it to be played in the USA as much as possible. Ticket sales and people who sell sporting goods associated with the proposed 24 team tournament would also want it mostly in the USA so they could maximize profits. The only way I see this 24 team tournament thing actually happening is if it is held in the USA every 10 years or so as a celebratory type anniversary money grab event. Not a 4 year cycle type main stay..
The Gold Cup is not for the bigger teams. The Gold Cup persists because, for the vast majority of CONCACAF, it's their only meaningful tournament. Outside of 5 to 6 teams in the region, most sides won't make combined Copa Americas and many won't even make the Gold Cup consistently (much less win it). The Gold Cup exists for them. Combine that with the Nations League, and you have a situation where nearly every nation can get meaningful football somewhat consistently outside of World Cup Qualification. If you eliminate Gold Cups, you cannot assure this. That is why the Gold Cup will persist. Also, Gold Cups make money (not a ton, but enough), which adds to the disincentive for elimination. Cutting down one Gold Cup and replacing it with a quaddrennial Copa America is one thing, but smaller nations in CONCACAF aren't going to sit still in between those Copa Americas when they could be a) playing actual competitive tournament football and b) making more money.
Not going to happen. Maybe replace the second Gold Cup (which, I agree, should absolutely happen) - but the Gold Cup is Concacaf's golden goose. As long as Mexican-Americans keeping telling Concacaf to shut up and take their money, we will have at least one Gold Cup held mostly in the US for the foreseeable future.