BEVERLY HILLS, May 31, (THEWILL) – After suspending Argentina’s hosting rights of the 2021 Copa America, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) has confirmed that unlike widely feared, the tournament will proceed as planned as Brazil has agreed to bear the responsibility of hosting duties.
As reported by THEWILL earlier, the continental football competition which was postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic was originally meant to be jointly-hosted between Colombia and Argentina. But CONMEBOL stripped Colombia of her co-hosting status in the midst of mounting political unrest in the country, leaving Argentina as the sole host.
Yet, 13 days to the opening games, the event then needed to find a new location after a surge in coronavirus cases ruled out playing games in Argentina and left the responsibility of getting a fresh host to the officials of the CONMEBOL, who converged for a Monday meeting to decide on the next move for hosting the tournament and the options open for their final decisions.
That Monday CONMEBOL meeting elected to move the tournament to Brazil, who were crowned champions on home soil in 2019, when they hosted and won the continental prize.
In a Twitter post from the official account of the governing body, Brazil’s hosting was confirmed. It read: “The CONMEBOL Copa America 2021 will be played in Brazil!
“Tournament start and end dates are confirmed. The venues and the fixture will be informed by CONMEBOL in the next few hours. The oldest national team tournament in the world will make the whole continent vibrate!”
This puts to rest the worries about having to reschedule dates and preparations all over again. The 2021 Copa America will hold on the scheduled dates from June 13 to July 10. Further details over locations and the exact schedule will be released in time for the tournament.
Yet, the decision to move the Copa to Brazil is not without controversy of its own. The rationale behind moving it away from Argentina was a spike in the COVID-19 infection rates but Brazil has been one of the worst hit by the COVID-19 health crisis. It has nearly 460,000 deaths alone, according to figures from the World Health Organisation on the country.
Added to this query is the fact that CONMEBOL’s decision comes in the aftermath of state-wide protests where protesters have called for the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro. The president is accused of playing down the severity of the virus and has been known to question the importance of vaccinations as well.
CONMEBOL’s decision remains questionable, with the inference being that the President was looking for a distraction that will take the minds of the majority of the football-loving Brazilians away from his issues.
But, the Confederation has chosen not to get involved in the politics but only focus on football. Their tweet continued: “The best soccer in the world will bring joy and passion to millions of South Americans.
“CONMEBOL thanks the President Jair Bolsonaro and his team, as well as the Brazilian Football Confederation for opening the doors of that country to what is today the safest sporting event in the world.
“South America will shine in Brazil with all its stars!”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
