The Copa America may be the oldest international football tournament in the world, but as the best players from South America, Mexico and the USA prepare to kick off the latest edition in Venezuela, this historic tournament is on the verge of an exciting new era.

With nine state-of-the-art stadiums, $980million dollars invested in new and improved infrastructure, and a worldwide accumulated television audience expected to top four billion people, the 42nd Copa America is set to be the most high-profile edition ever.

Brazilian stars such as Ronaldinho and Kaka, Argentinean winger Lionel Messi and Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan will be among the players from the major European leagues battling it out in for glory between June 26th and July 15th.

But it’s not just football fans gearing up for an exciting three weeks, with businesses around the world lining up to cash in on an event predicted to reach a global consumer market of more than one billion people with a combined buying power of trillions of dollars.

The participation of the United States for the first time since the 1995 Copa America in Uruguay has also added a new dimension to the commercial side with the giant North American consumer market set to be opened up even further.

And with FIFA having pledged to award the 2014 World Cup to South America, could Venezuela be a potential host of that tournament should overwhelming favourite Brazil encounter problems in its bid to stage the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’?

Despite its relatively low standing as a competitive nation in FIFA’s world playing rankings, Venezuela’s preparations are such that it looks set to be regarded as the most efficient and commercially powerful host in Copa America history, with the South American football federation continuing its policy of rotating its showcase event between its ten members.

But how does a country – especially one where football lags behind US sports like baseball in popularity – go about preparing for such a tournament, and what lasting impact will it leave on a country where a vast number of people still live in poverty?

Football Business went behind the scenes of the Copa America draw in Caracas to speak to the key off-field players who have spent the past three years bringing the event to fruition.

Broadcast on terrestrial channels throughout South America, the tournament will be screened live in the USA on Univision/Telefutura as well as Fox en Español, while viewers in the UK will be able to watch on Sky Sports and fans in Japan on NTV.

It is also the first time a major sporting event based in South America will be available in High-Definition, with organisers looking to start the games in late afternoon or early evening local time in order to attract as many European viewers as possible.

“In addition to being the biggest football event of 2007 I would say the Copa America is actually the most important sports event of 2007 and the addition of the United States makes it that much more important,” Davidson said.

“With the United States participating and the games being broadcast in three languages – English, Spanish and Portuguese – we have a potential audience of more than 800 million people in the Americas alone with a cumulative buying power of over $12 trillion.”

He described the past twelve months as a “landmark” year in the history of football in the USA following the purchase of Major League Soccer club New York MetroStars by energy drinks giant Red Bull and the recent signing of David Beckham by Los Angeles Galaxy.

However, with the CONCACAF Gold Cup being held from June 6th to 24th it remains to be seen which tournament will take priority for the USA, with the country likely to field different squads for each competition in order to avoid player burn-out.

“The attention of the world will be on the region and from a promotional and sponsorship point of view we have even had candy companies in Asia interested in doing promotional activities to bring people to Venezuela, so that just goes to show how Latin American football appeals to people all over the world,” Mr Davidson continued.

“Venezuela is not traditionally a football country but there is a strong fan base here for football from other countries and I think you are going to see huge attendances at all the games.

“In the world of football at the moment there is a lot of saturation so to bring an event like the Copa America to somewhere where it is fresh and new gives it an original perspective.

” Traffic USA Sales Manager, Augusto Blacker, agreed: “The Copa America is the third largest football tournament in the world after the World Cup and the European Championships, and we expect record interest this year as it will not be played during World Cup qualifying, which was the case in 2004.

“Given that fact and for the first time in its history Venezuela did not finish in last place in those World Cup qualifiers, and is also now exporting players to the better leagues in Europe such as Juan Arango at Mallorca, local interest has been incredibly high.



“In addition, the average stadium size will be upwards of 38,500 people as opposed to Copa America 2004 where the average was just 17,000. That is an incredible improvement.”

In this respect and others, the Copa America has come a long way in the past six years. Before the success of the last event in Peru, the 2001 edition in Colombia was postponed amid security fears before eventually going ahead at just a week’s notice, and with most

It is not just big business that is looking forward to huge revenue boost from an event which was first held in 1916. Hoteliers, taxi drivers, bus companies and shop owners across Venezuela are also braced for a huge boost in trade, having been encouraged to take advantage of special low-interest loans to invest in new transport or other facilities.

In each host city there will be “Fan Fests”, the like of which produced such successful results at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. They will feature dance, music, food and drink and various cultural activities plus huge television screens so fans without tickets can watch the action live.

National Organising Committee marketing and promotional director, Rolando Urdaneta, revealed the government has set aside 1,000 billboard sites throughout the country for a series of giant promotional posters.

“My business is not just about money but also about social responsibility,” he explained. “We want the Copa America to be able to help local people earn money and raise their living standards.

“There are special low-interest loans available that will allow firms or individuals to buy a car or small bus and use it as a taxi. This will allow ordinary people to earn a living and benefit local citizens once the football is over.”

With such an impressive array of new stadia, Venezuela now appears well placed to be a future host of a world youth championship should it not quite make it over the line as 2014 World Cup outsider.

Eugenio Figueredo, Vice-President of CONMEBOL, told Football Business he believed each new Copa America has been more successful and high-profile than the last, but dismissed suggestions it could be expanded to include more teams. He also ruled out the possibility of two countries making a joint bid to host a future edition of the Copa America, unlike UEFA which awarded the Euro 2000 to Belgium and Holland and has chosen Switzerland and Austria as the hosts of Euro 2008.

“South America football has a lot of players and promotion in the world and especially in Europe so its appeal is worldwide.

“We also see the participation of the USA team this year as a great opportunity to promote not just the Copa America in an important market but also all our other competitions like the Copa Libertadores, World Cup qualifiers and our U-20 and U-17 tournaments.”

There are an extensive range of tickets prices, designed to ensure football fans of all backgrounds can sample the unique flavour of the tournament. Tickets for group matches will cost from between $8 and $84 in stadia where matches are uniquely held backto- back, or half of those amounts for single matches. A ticket for the final in Maracaibo may cost as little as $9, and in potentially opening up grounds to all demographics, the organisers are confident that their hard work will result in one of the safest, most colourful and noisy Copa Americas of all time.

And according to Mr Narvaez, there is another reason why it is so important to Venezuelan people that their country stages the most successful and highprofile Copa America ever this summer.

“Venezuela has only ever hosted one major sports event in the past 30 years - the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas - and that was undoubtedly the worst edition of all time so we have had that black mark against our sporting history for many years.

“We hope and are sure this Copa America will erase that mark and leave everyone with a fantastic and lasting impression of our country.”