Who will win the 2019 Copa América? Will Chile win it three times in a row or will Neymar’s Brazil or Messi’s Argentina win it? Whichever team wins, it will be a spectacle with the whole football world watching.

Below we take a look at a few business aspects of the 2019 Copa América, from location to prize money and from attendance figures to sponsors.

Brazil hosts the 2019 Copa América

The 46th edition of the Copa América takes place in Brazil from June 14th to July 7th. 12 teams – 10 South American nations and invitees Japan and Qatar (organiser of the 2022 World Cup) – will compete for the title. A total of 26 matches will take place in six stadiums across five cities with the final in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is not new to hosting major football tournaments. It will be the fifth time the Copa takes place in Brazil, while the country also organised the 2017 Confederations Cup and 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Prize money at the 2019 Copa América

The prize purse for this year’s Copa América has not officially been revealed. CONMEBOL (the governing body of South American football) has specified the different trophies, distinctions and medals that will be awarded, but no monetary rewards.

However, past editions are probably a good indication of the amounts that will be awarded. In 2015 a total of $10 million was awarded, with champions Chile and runners-up Argentina receiving respectively $4 and $3 million.

In 2016 the Copa América Centenario took place to celebrate the governing body’s 100-year existence. Price money more than doubled compared to 2015. $21.5 million was awarded with $6.5 million reserved for champions Chile. Second, third and fourth place earned respectively $3.5, $3 and $2.5 million.

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In 2019 CONMEBOL will pay for the participation fee (including pre-tournament expenses), while the tournament’s organising committee is responsible for the costs during the tournament.

Attendance figures of the Copa América

The highest attendance figure at the last ten Copa América finals was during the 2016 final in the USA. At the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, Chile beat Argentina in front of 82,026 people. It was the first Copa América to take place outside of South America. The stadium also has a far higher capacity than the stadiums of the preceding nine finals.

The second highest final attendance was set in Uruguay in 1995. In Estadio Centenario 60,000 people saw Uruguay beat Brazil after penalties. In 2011 the final in Argentina came close with almost 58,000 spectators. 

However, the three finals were always destined to top the charts due to higher stadium capacities. When looking at capacity utilisation most of the last ten finals reached over 90 percent.

The 2019 final will take place at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, which has a capacity of 78,838.

Sponsors of the 2019 Copa América

CONMEBOL lists four official sponsors on their tournament website (as of May 24th):

• TCL: a Chinese multinational company focussing on consumer electronics
• Mastercard: an American financial services company
• Brahma: a Brazilian beer owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev
• Gol: a Brazilian airline company

When comparing the Copa América 2019 sponsors to those of the FIFA Club World Cup and 2019 Women’s World Cup, you see a big difference in the number of sponsors. Of course FIFA is a far bigger organisation, but four official sponsors seem few nonetheless.

With two Brazilian companies, they do follow the trend of events having national sponsors in addition to international sponsors. The sponsors are also active in different industries.

Sponsors of the national teams

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Five different brands sponsor the 12 Copa América teams. Adidas leads the way by sponsoring four nations, followed by Nike and Marathon with each three. Puma and Italian brand Givova (both one) complete the list. Several nations wear a bespoke design for the tournament, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay.

Fan engagement around the Copa América

There is no shortage of fan activities around a tournament like the Copa América. So here are a few examples:

• Agreement with Facebook to show exclusive content on Facebook and Instagram and a community manager for each nation;
• Panini has created a sticker album for the event, including a section celebrating legendary teams and players;
• Fans could vote on Twitter and Facebook between two names for the tournament mascot, with Zizito coming out on top;
• Trophy tour.

You can find the Copa América latest news and match schedule on the official website. For other sports events to attend you can have a look at our overview of sports events.