VICTOR MONTAGLIANI is the president of CONCACAF. He was appointed to the role in May, and the ongoing Copa América Centenario has his confederation in the spotlight early in his tenure. The 16-team tournament, being held outside South America for the first time, features int'l stars like Argentina’s LIONEL MESSI, Colombia’s JAMES RODRÍGUEZ and Chile’s ALEXIS SÁNCHEZ, to name a few. The Copa América Centenario USA 2016 Local Organizing Committee said that as of last Friday, 1.2 million tickets had been sold, making it the highest-attended Copa América in its 100-year history, breaking the previous record set in '79, when 1.144 million attended matches in all 10 South American countries. Montagliani spoke to SBD Global during group play and addressed a number of topics, including the start of the tournament, how the U.S. hosting it could impact a potential World Cup bid and the possibility of future collaborations between CONCACAF and CONMEBOL.
On the reasons this year's Copa América was held in the U.S. ...
Victor Montagliani: In terms of coming to the U.S., from a market standpoint I think it's pretty obvious why. If you just compare our average attendance up to now, which is about 40,000 per game, compared to the Copa América they had in 2015 in Chile, we're more than double what they average in their own backyard. So, I think from a market standpoint it's pretty clear why they would come here. And it's also perhaps an opportunity to hold hands as the Americas, as they say, to have a tournament of this nature. It's a Centenario, so it's celebrating 100 years, so they maybe wanted to do it a little differently. Those are just my observations from afar, because when the decision was made over two years ago, I wasn't even around.
On the challenges of the short turnaround after the tournament was confirmed in October ...
Montagliani: First and foremost it's the HR challenge, trying to get enough volunteers and stuff in place, which we have, we've done that. Making sure that the venues are all prepped and ready to go. And then just the straightforward operational issues: travel, accommodation, making sure everything is there. We've had a couple of hiccups in the early games, but to be honest with you, I don't know of an international event that doesn't have a hiccup. It's a reality of when you put on a big event. We've dealt with it. We've corrected whatever we've needed to correct, and I think we'll be fine as we get to the final on June 26.
On overcoming early miscues like Chile's national anthem being played instead of Uruguay's ...
Montagliani: I think it's already started, to be honest with you. There's been some cracker games. ... The games are getting more intense and I think the football will speak for itself. In the end, I think every tournament, at the end of the day it's always what's happening on the field that's more important to people than anything that happens outside the field.
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Victor Montagliani
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On the U.S. using this stage to prove its ability to host an int'l tournament like a World Cup ...
Montagliani: I don't think that this tournament is any significant statement on the ability of the U.S. to host a World Cup. We know the U.S. can do it. They've done it. There's no issues with facilities. And as we know, there's two other countries that are looking to host 2026 in our area, Mexico and Canada. From an ability standpoint, I think all three of them -- and specifically the U.S. -- have no issues in terms of hosting. I don't think there's a direct correlation there. The U.S. has proven time and time again that they can host pretty much any major international event.
On talks of a joint WC bid between the U.S. and its neighbors ...
Montagliani: There will be a time and a place for that discussion to happen. Right now we're not there. FIFA still has to go through a consultation process to define the exact parameters of how the bid would work, as they announced in a memo about a month ago. We're still waiting for that to be finished, and once that consultation process is finished, then we're in a better position -- whether it be individually or as a collective -- to sit down and discuss what it will look like in CONCACAF from a strategic standpoint.
On combining with CONMEBOL on future tournaments organized by both confederations ...
Montagliani: This is a one-off from a Centenario standpoint. We have not had any discussions, formally or informally, with our brothers at CONMEBOL. Would there be interest in looking at a tournament format that would include a combination of the Americas? It would be different than this format, no doubt about it, but it would be obviously something that could benefit both. I think we're open to that discussion, but that's something that has to be looked at in the future.
On how the Copa América can increase the sport's popularity in the U.S. ...
Montagliani: I think it's an interesting question, because your question presupposes that the sport is not popular. I actually think it is very popular. I think soccer, or football as I like to call it, is in the mainstream of North American culture, and not just U.S. culture. It's obvious where it is in Mexico, it's obvious where it is in the U.S. and it's obvious where it is in Canada. I think soccer is no longer the sport that can be, it's the sport that is. It's obviously here to stay. With all due respect, I see more soccer jerseys when I walk around the U.S. than I see any other sports jersey. The truth is that soccer is part of the mainframe of U.S. society and those that want to deny that are fooling themselves.
Hangin' With runs each Friday in SBD Global.
