A muted opening for the Copa America

In the third edition of the Brazil Sports newsletter, we take a look at the subdued start to the Copa America, the plans for next year’s tournament (yes, you read that correctly), and look back at missed opportunities for Brazil in the Women’s World Cup. Happy reading!

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A muted opening for the Copa America

The 2019 Copa America began on Friday, with Brazil dispatching Bolivia 3-0 in São Paulo. But despite being another major international tournament held in Brazil (which has hosted the World Cup and Olympics already this decade), public excitement has been somewhat subdued.

Take the opening fixture, for example. Brazil kicked off their campaign in front of a near-silent crowd in São Paulo, with the hosts actually being booed off the pitch after a goalless first half. While fans in Brazil’s biggest city are already notorious for being the most demanding and least convinced when it comes to the national side, there is a suggestion that another factor may have played a part in the drab atmosphere: ticket prices.

An average ticket for the match at the Morumbi stadium was an astonishing BRL 485—around USD 125. Being just under half of the Brazilian minimum wage, huge parts of the population are priced out of the Copa America. Considering that the traditional singing sections in Brazilian stadiums are always in the cheapest seats, Friday’s opener was full of the country’s answer to the prawn sandwich brigade—fans who remain seated, don’t sing, and love a good moan about their own team.

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The organizers, however, must have been delighted. A sellout crowd meant the gate receipts came in at an astonishing BRL 22 million—more than the total ticket sales of all but three Brazilian clubs in 2019 so far.

The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) was less delighted on Day 2, however. Venezuela and Peru played...