I almost missed out on the Copa América this year. I attempted to sign up for a press pass as I normally do for a balompié tournament in the US. I say attempted because, unfortunately, the application page for credentials via CONMEBOL left me with more questions than answers I could provide to the ones listed on the request form.

As a friend of mine at ESPN noted: “dude it’s a mess lol – there’s gonna be mistakes and some angry people this summer haha.”

I’m not sure how many mistakes were made via the application…but there were plenty of questionable choices and decisions that the higher-ups at CONMEBOL made before and during the tournament, which resulted in the many ridiculous and/or terrible stories you may have already seen by now: from the insanely priced food served in the media press room at SoFi stadium to the horrifying scenes at the final in Miami.

I witnessed the result of CONMEBOL’s questionable leadership first-hand, early-on in the tournament during my brief stint as an official volunteer for the Copa América 2024. A journalist friend of mine at the L.A. Times shared information on how to enroll as a volunteer at the tournament. It was my best chance to at least attend the two group stage games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The application for volunteers was mercifully easier to complete than the one for journalists. There were numerous categories listed for applicants to choose from depending on their skills and preferences. These were: Training Site, Competitions Support, Team Services, Antidoping, Security, International Relations, Commercial Operations, and Media Operations. The Media Operations option was divided into additional subcategories: mixed zone, conference analyst, press conference analyst, photo analyst, press conference support, and press tribune analyst.