RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) announced on Monday, May 31, that the Copa América, the oldest international soccer tournament in the world, that was postponed from last year, would be played in Brazil after it was reported on Sunday night that Argentina would not organize it due to the intensification of the pandemic in that country.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after Argentina said its Covid-19 outbreak meant it could not longer host the event, and the face of the fact that Brazil is still fighting its own battle with the coronavirus.
The highest authority of South American soccer indicated in its Twitter account that the “dates and start of the tournament are confirmed” and that the “venues and fixture will be notified in the coming hours”.
In another statement, CONMEBOL expressed its gratitude to the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, as well as to 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,” reads the note, which preceded the official announcement with “the CONMEBOL Copa América 2021 will be played in Brazil.”
The announcement comes after Argentina was ruled out as host of the tournament that was to be shared with Colombia, which requested a postponement due to the social conflict in that country, which Conmebol did not accept.
After Argentina was ruled out as host, Conmebol, which groups ten country federations, had indicated that it was analyzing “the offer of other countries that showed interest in hosting the continental tournament”.
The Covid-19 pandemic last year forced the cancellation of the tournament, scheduled to be held in Argentina and Colombia between June 12 and July 12, 2020; it was then rescheduled for June 13 this year.
After Colombia rejected hosting the tournament, the option was given to Argentina, whose government eventually considered that the health situation did not make it viable to hold the event.
Organizers had been reluctant to call off the tournament, because of its importance financially. The last Copa America, held in Brazil in 2019, brought in US$118 million in revenue.