WASHINGTON (June 20, 2024) – Copa America kicks off today with the United States playing host to the South America's continental championship tournament. Six of the 16 teams are from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), which include the U.S, Mexico, Jamaica, Canada, Costa Rica and Panama. Those countries will join all 10 South American nations in this tournament. According to BBC News, “The tournament is being seen as preparation for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States along with Canada and Mexico.”
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Senior Media Relations Specialist Cate Douglass at [email protected].
Lisa Delpy Neirotti, the director of the MS in Sport Management Program and an associate professor of sport management, has been a professor of sport, event, and tourism management at GW for more than 30 years. Delpy Neirotti works with a number of sport event organizations, sponsors, and professional teams to conduct economic and market research studies including the Olympic Games, World Cup, Citi Bank Tennis Tournament, College Football Bowl Games, among others. This will be the 22nd consecutive Olympics she has attended as a consultant, volunteer or researcher, in addition to 5 World Cups, and hundreds of other major sport events since 1984.
Scott Rezendes, adjunct professor, teaches the Management of Global Soccer course at the GW School of Business. The course takes an in-depth look into the world's most popular sport, engaging current topics with industry experts from across the globe. It integrates real live experiences with behind the scenes views of professional club management and national team match day engagement opportunities. Rezendes is also the CEO and co-founder of the Soccer Syndicate, a professional soccer scouting corporation.
Peter Loge is the director of the GW School of Media & Public Affairs. His book, “Soccer Thinking for Management Success: Lessons for Organizations from the World's Game,” was published in 2018. It draws parallels of organizational success and soccer as well as dives into the lessons that can be learned from the game from a management and leadership perspective.
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