Philadelphia won’t host games in the 2024 Copa América soccer tournament

The venues for next year’s Copa América soccer tournament, combining South and North American national teams in the biggest dress rehearsal for the 2026 World Cup, were announced Monday.

Philadelphia was not one of them.

That is disappointing news for a city that will host games in 2026, even though local officials here were braced for the news for a while. When Lincoln Financial Field announced Kenny Chesney and Rolling Stones concerts for June 8 and 11, respectively, that was a sign. The Copa América starts June 20.

“We are especially proud of the soccer destination that Philadelphia has become, as demonstrated by the major events that have been held at both Lincoln Financial Field and Subaru Park in recent months,” PHL Sports executive director Larry Needle said in a statement. “We look forward to many more exciting opportunities leading up to and beyond the FIFA World Cup 2026.”

Needle didn’t say much about how hard Philadelphia pushed to get games, beyond stating that “Philadelphia’s sports event calendar is one of the most robust of any city in the country, and the result of strategic partnerships with all of our local teams, venues, the City of Philadelphia and our hospitality community.”

The Copa América is being organized by CONMEBOL, South America’s continental confederation, with some help from Concacaf, the North and Central American confederation. They went overwhelmingly southern and western with the venues, with MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., the only venue picked in the northeast U.S.

There will be 14 venues in all, spread across 13 cities. Notably, three of them are MLS-specific venues in Orlando, the Kansas City area, and Austin, Texas – which means they’re much smaller than you’d expect for a tournament of this scale.

Kansas City will have two venues in use, though, as Sporting’s soccer stadium and the Chiefs’ NFL stadium will get one game each. The most games any host city will get in the 32-game tournament is three; the fewest is two.

CONMEBOL also unveiled the framework of the game schedule, ahead of the group stage draw Thursday night in Miami (7 p.m., FS1, TUDN). The United States was seeded at the top of Group C, and will play its group games at the NFL stadiums in Arlington, Texas; Atlanta; and Kansas City.

Argentina, which is expected to have Lionel Messi, was seeded atop Group A as the reigning Copa América champions. Its group games will be at NFL stadiums in Atlanta (the tournament opener), East Rutherford, and Miami Gardens, Fla. – down the road from Messi’s MLS home with Inter Miami in Fort Lauderdale.

The quarterfinals will be played in Houston, Arlington, Las Vegas, and suburban Phoenix. The semifinals will be played in East Rutherford and Charlotte, with the latter also getting the tournament’s third-place game. The final will be in Miami Gardens.

Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nev. (65,000 capacity): B2. vs. B4 (June 26) and D1. Brazil vs. D3 (June 28) in the group stage; Group C winner vs. Group D runner-up quarterfinal (July 6)

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas (80,000): A2 vs. A3 (June 21) and C1. United States vs. C4 (June 24) in the group stage; Group B winner vs. Group A runner-up quarterfinal (July 5)

Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte (74,867): Second semifinal (July 10) and third place game (July 13)

Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kan. (18,500): A2 vs. A4 (June 25) in the group stage

GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo. (76,416): C1. United States vs. C2 (July 1) in the group stage

Exploria Stadium, Orlando (25,500): A4 vs. A3 (June 29) and C4 vs. C3 (July 1) in the group stage

Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla. (65,000): C2 vs. C3 (June 23) and A1. Argentina vs. A2 in the group stage (June 29); championship game (July 14)

Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif. (68,500): B2 vs. B3 (June 22) and D1. Brazil vs. D2 (July 2) in the group stage)

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta (71,000): Argentina vs. A4 (June 20) and C1. United States vs. C3 (June 27) in the group stage

MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J. (82,500): A1. Argentina vs. A3 (June 25) and C2 vs. C4 (June 27) in the group stage; first semifinal (July 9)

NRG Stadium, Houston (72,220): B1. Mexico vs. B4 (June 22) and D2 vs. D3 (June 24) in the group stage; Group A winner vs. Group B runner-up quarterfinal (July 4)

Q2 Stadium, Austin, Texas (20,500): B4 vs. B3 (June 30) and D4 vs. D3 (July 2) in the group stage

SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif. (70,000): D1. Brazil vs. D4 (June 24) and B1. Mexico vs. B3 (June 26) in the group stage)

State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. (63,400): D2 vs. D4 (June 28) and B1. Mexico vs. B2 (June 30) in the group stage; Group C winner vs. Group D runner-up quarterfinal (July 6)