Copa América Centenario Will Be the Biggest Sporting Event of 2016

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1. Once in a lifetime

Copa América Centenario isn’t your every day, every two-year, or even every four-year tournament -- it’s 100 years in the making. That’s right … the first Copa América, typically just a South American competition, was in 1916, so CONMEBOL decided to celebrate its centennial in a big way. In addition to their 10 national teams, they’ve invited six teams from neighbor federation CONCACAF to compete in a joint tournament.

2. First ever Champion of the Americas

Never before have the heavyweight teams from the Americas -- Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela (CONMEBOL) and U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica and two more to be determined (CONCACAF) -- come together for the ultimate competition. The winner will be the Champion of the Americas.

3. Played in the U.S.A.

The biggest cities all over the country are fighting for the right to host games in the most spectacular stadiums they have to offer.  And though the host cities haven’t been announced, tournament buzz has been steadily building as U.S. Hispanics grow eager for their favorite teams to come to them.  Plus, since all 32 games will be played on U.S. soil, gone are the days of watching matches at inconvenient times. Every single game of the tournament will be played in primetime or the weekend and aired LIVE across platforms via Univision Deportes.

4. All the biggest superstars

Copa América Centenario has been added to the official FIFA calendar and, if you don’t know how important that is, it means that FIFA requires clubs to release top talent back to their national teams. So be assured that soccer fans will flock to watch superstars Lionel Messi, James Rodriguez, Luis Suarez, Neymar, Chicharito and others make headlines next summer.

5. Big for U.S. Hispanics

With virtually all the biggest stars and every team of interest to U.S. Hispanics at play, most people will find at least one good reason to watch. Copa América Centenario’s average per game viewership on Univision is projected to top viewership records, which means everyone at the water cooler will know if you didn’t watch the most recent epic showdown.

6. Powerhouse marketing platform

Copa América Centenario provides a creative and flexible marketing platform by offering custom in-game integrations and virtual advertisements. On top of that, you can layer additional sponsorships including TV (live matches, support programming), digital/mobile (including live streaming) and social, with coverage extending across sports, entertainment and news programming.

The opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com / MyersBizNet, Inc. management or associated bloggers.