In Europe the summer has been marked by record attendances, a smooth operation and some outstanding performances at Euro 2025. But the picture from the 2025 Copa América Feminina, played in the South American winter, is less rosy with criticism from players, coaches, fans and media regarding the poor organisation, low attendances and questionable refereeing.
With the fiasco of the Copa Libertadores Feminina last October, another tournament blighted by organisational problems, fresh in memory the hope was that Conmebol would raise their game for this year’s Copa América in Ecuador. However, the tournament feels years behind its European rival and that is worrying in the extreme as the continent prepares to host its first Women’s World Cup, in Brazil in 2027.
The issues at the tournament reflect deeper structural problems within South American women’s football. Major competitions often lack the technology now ever-present in the men’s game, such as VAR from the group stage, and the main stadia in the country are not being used.
Promotion for this competition has also been lacking, with tickets, for example, only going on sale on 4 July, just eight days before the tournament started. It is no surprise that there has been a low turnout. Brazilian legend Marta was one of those who spoke out about the limited investment in the tournament. “It’s been a long time since I played in a tournament here in South America, and we were saddened by these circumstances. We hope that Conmebol will change things and improve the situation,” she told Globo Esporte.
Undeterred and while under fire for its handling of the Copa América, Conmebol announced a new international tournament: the Nations League. The draw will take place on 31 July in Paraguay and will run between 2025 and 2026. Two places at the World Cup are up for grabs, with another two available at the intercontinental playoffs. At least VAR will be used at all the games.
That has not been the case in Ecuador, where the Chilean defender Fernanda Pinilla spoke up against the lack of it for the group stages. It will only be used in this week’s semi-finals and the final. “I think VAR can work for you or against you, but it gets us closer to fairness,” she said after the 2-1 defeat to Argentina. “It would be really important that, in such a major tournament like the Copa América, it could be used. We still need to improve the tournament, the format, everything, and one of these improvements would be to have VAR from the group stage.”
Pinilla was not the only one to criticise the tournament’s organisation. Her teammate Yanara Aedo said: “It’s disrespectful that we don’t have VAR. For us, as players, it’s shameful to watch the [differences between] the Euros and the Copa América … In our last match [a 3-0 win over Peru]a legitimate goal was disallowed. It’s good that the game was broadcast so people could see the two penalties we weren’t given. I’m not saying Argentina didn’t deserve to win but VAR would have changed the game for them and us, for every player. The organisers should get their act together because we’re as much footballers as the men are.”
Another heavily criticised issue was the warm-up arrangements before matches. Players were not allowed to warm up on the pitch; instead they had to get ready in small rooms in the stadium. “While at the Euros they are breaking records in technology, we are warming up in a room with a maximum of 20 square metres, smelling of paint,” wrote the Brazilian and Manchester City forward Kerolin on her X account after scoring a hat-trick in the 6-0 win against Bolivia.
The Brazilian women’s national team, who have won the tournament nine times, have been at the forefront of the criticism over Conmebol’s handling of the competition. They had to warm up in these small rooms before the games against Venezuela and Bolivia – together with their opponents.
“The warm-up issue really worries me,” the Brazil coach, Arthur Elias, said. “We had a player who, at the end of the warm-up, felt what was maybe be a muscle issue. We tested her [and she played]but if we had needed to replace her it would have been with a player who hadn’t warmed up because there wasn’t enough space for all 20 players.”
Conmebol claimed that, with all matches being played in just two stadia, the pitches would deteriorate if the warm-ups were done on them too. However, the governing body later announced that, after re-evaluating the condition of the pitches, players would be allowed 15 minutes of warm-up on the playing field. “I’d like to thank Conmebol for being conscious enough to allow us to warm up for 15 minutes. It’ll be really important. It’s still not ideal, not even close, but it’s a good first step, and may we always evolve,” Kerolin said.
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The situation is not good enough and Conmebol have to listen to the players when it comes to providing the best support for women’s football. In just two years, the continent will host fans from around the world who expect to enjoy the women’s game at its highest level. There is a lot to be done before then.
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