Graciela Mochkofsky writes about the 2024 Copa América, where Argentina will be defending its title in Atlanta, and its first opponent will be Canada.
How has it come to this? The first and most simple answer is that South America is in such a mess that it can no longer take care of its most precious tournament. It’s not like the Copa has had a smooth history. Conceived as part of the centennial celebrations of Argentina’s independence from Spain, in 1816, its first edition took place in Buenos Aires during two weeks in July of 1916, among only four teams—Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile.
Last year, Messi, who had led Argentina to victory in both the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 World Cup, joined Inter Miami, an M.L.S. team. Apple TV+ had recently signed a $2.5-billion, ten-year deal to stream the league’s games. The operation has been quite successful. After Messi joined Inter Miami, the club’s value increased from six hundred million dollars to more than a billion. On the day he made his début, Apple TV+ saw a 1,690-per-cent increase in subscriptions to its M.L.S.