The 2016 Copa America Centenario has had a little bit of everything. Incredible saves, Messi proving he isn’t actually human, and now, shattering records left and right.
Heading into the 2016 Copa America Centenario Final featuring FIFA World No. 1-ranked Argentina vs. No. 5-ranked Chile on Sunday, June 26, CONCACAF and Copa America Local Organizing Committee (LOC) officials announced today that this year’s tournament will set new records for total and average attendance, television viewership in the United States and throughout the world, and digital and social media engagement.
Copa America Centenario, which celebrates 100 years of the oldest national team tournament around the world, has entertained millions of soccer fans around the world, in the way of 90 goals (3.0 goals per match) prior to the Finals weekend. More goals are on the horizon as the Final on Sunday will feature five-time World Player of the year Lionel Messi of Argentina, Italian Serie A leading scorer Gonzalo HiguaÃn (Argentina), tournament leading scorer Eduardo Vargas (Chile) and one of the top players in the English Premier League, Alexis Sánchez (Chile).
When the tournament concludes on Sunday, nearly 1.5 million fans will have attended the 32 Copa America Centenario games across 10 venues in the United States, for an average of more than 46,000 fans per game, making it the most attended Copa America in the tournament’s 100-year history, as well as the second highest-attended official single-game soccer tournament played in the United States, behind only the 1994 FIFA World Cup (in which 20 more games were played).
Along with record setting attendance, Copa America Centenario has delivered impressive television ratings in the United States as more than 100 million viewers have watched games on the Univision and FOX networks, including the most-watched men’s soccer match in the history of FS1 for the USA vs. Argentina Semifinal match in Houston earlier this week on Tuesday, June 21. Copa America Centenario has also delivered record ratings for Univision Deportes, with the group stage drawing a larger audience than the group stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Internationally, Copa America Centenario has been televised in more than 160 countries around the world, reaching more than 1.5 billion households.
Copa America Centenario has also set records on digital platforms, as the USA vs. Argentina match on FOX Sports GO was the most-viewed authenticated event in the network’s history. Social media engagement has skyrocketed, as the tournament has seen more than 3.5 million users across all social media platforms, surpassing the 2015 Copa America in Chile.
Fans can tune in to the final two Copa America Centenario games this weekend, as the United States will battle Colombia for the second time during the tournament in the third place match on Saturday, June 25 at 5 p.m. PT on Univision. The Final will then take place on Sunday, June 26 at 5 p.m. PT on FS1 between Argentina and Chile.