MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Juan Nicolas wants this time to be different.
The Bogot谩, Colombia, native saw the scary scene two years ago during the Copa America final as breached the security gates at Hard Rock Stadium to watch Colombia face Argentina.
Colombia’s soccer team will play Portugal on Saturday in a group stage match, returning to the stadium for the first time since that incident 鈥� this time with heightened security and multiple checkpoints.
鈥淣ow that we鈥檙e here, I feel a little pressure just to show myself better and like to show a better country to the world,” said Nicolas, who said he was not at the match in 2024. “Colombia is new now. Colombia has new stuff to give to the world. We鈥檙e a different country, so now we have to show that.鈥�
The crowd trouble began hours before the July 2024 match. Supporters 鈥� many of them wearing Colombia鈥檚 yellow and red colors 鈥� rushed the gates at the home stadium of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, leaving fans terrified and bloodied as security struggled to contain the rush.
Screams could be heard in the background of many videos circling social media, and posts showed some fans trying to climb through air vents to gain entry.
Questions were sparked on how to handle two more years of major soccer tournaments in the United States 鈥� the Club World Cup last year and this year’s World Cup.
There was last summer at the Club World Cup matches held in Miami, which served as a preview of the ticket-screening measures to expect on Saturday.
Fans must pass through three separate checkpoints that enclose the entire campus before getting close to the stadium, and parking passes are checked well before entry. Steel fencing is also set up around the perimeter.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a layered approach that people have to go through,鈥� said Andrew Giuliani, executive director of President Donald Trump鈥檚 World Cup task force, which is overseeing the tournament’s
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to make sure that everybody is on their guard ready to go that day in particular,鈥� Giuliani added, 鈥渏ust making sure that there are no issues. … We鈥檙e leaning in on the 27th to make sure we can talk about the action that happened (on the pitch).”
Giuliani said there will be a 鈥渟trong federal presence鈥� both around the stadium and city on Saturday, declining to answer if that includes more than a typical match day. There have been three World Cup group matches in Miami so far. Each has seen a heavy police presence.
鈥淚 think we like showing up for our team, and some people take it a little bit too far,” said Lucas Gaviria, a native of Manizales, Colombia, who attends Florida Atlantic University. 鈥淭hat has to do with our culture. We care about it too much, we have a 鈥榓ny means necessary鈥� type of thinking. 鈥業 need to see this game, even though I know I don鈥檛 have the money for it.鈥欌��
Saturday’s match has been in high demand, both because of South Florida’s large Colombian community and the draw of Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo. Tickets on the resale site StubHub were listed from around $3,000 to more than $5,000.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have tickets, you shouldn鈥檛 be on site here,鈥� Giuliani , when he and other members of the task force visited the stadium during the College Football Playoff national championship. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not like an American football game where there鈥檚 tailgating. This is very different. We want to make sure the security resources are here for those ticketed fans. If you鈥檙e not ticketed, you have fan festivals. You have other events in the Miami area where you can go and enjoy and be safe.鈥�
Hard Rock Stadium 鈥� Miami Stadium is its name during the World Cup because of FIFA鈥檚 policies about sponsorship 鈥� has not commented because of its ongoing involvement in multiple lawsuits related to the Copa America final.
Those lawsuits, which list multiple defendants, claim 鈥� among other things 鈥� that the stadium and soccer officials didn鈥檛 have enough security present to handle such a crowd, lacked proper numbers of Spanish-speaking personnel working at the event and didn鈥檛 protect legitimate ticket holders 鈥渇rom foreseeable criminal activity.鈥�
Ahead of Saturday’s match, Colombia supporters said they hope that moment doesn’t define them.
“There are a lot of great things that Colombia stands for,” said Nadia Rodriguez, a Bogota, Colombia, native living in Miami. 鈥淕reat coffee, beautiful landscapes, amazing songs, the soccer team. The darkness is in the past.鈥�
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AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.
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Zach Pascuzzi is a student in the University of Georgia鈥檚 Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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