Pandemic and riots: Colombian government asks Conmebol to postpone Copa América

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Colombian Minister of Sports, Ernesto Lucena, announced Thursday that the Government would ask the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) to postpone the Copa América, which his country will host next month along with Argentina, to allow fans to attend.

“The Government of Colombia will formally request the South American Football Confederation, through the Colombian Football Federation (FCF), to postpone the Copa América,” Lucena said in a statement after a meeting with President Iván Duque and said they would ask for it to be held at the end of 2021.

In addition to the covid-19 pandemic, the development of the tournament is threatened by protests, which began on April 28 and have so far left 42 dead (41 civilians and one policeman) in events marked by police brutality and riots.

The Copa América, which was to be held in 2020, was postponed for this year due to the pandemic and is scheduled to be played, so far, from June 13 to July 10.

ARGUMENTS OF THE COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT

The minister explained that “the most important thing in an event of this magnitude is the seating capacity of the public” and added that “the impossibility of having a large enough seating capacity makes the Cup not an event we all dream of”.

Lucena assured that he spoke with the president of Conmebol, Alejandro Domínguez, who received the request and decided on the matter.

“On that basis, we request that both Colombia and Argentina be given a deadline where we can carry out this event in the best possible way with fans in the stadiums, who in the end are the ones who give life and color to the Copa América,” he reiterated.

When asked about the public order situation in Colombia and if this has any relation with the postponement request, Lucena assured that “the participants in the national strike” have had “spaces to talk with the Government”.

“There are many Colombians who do not want the Copa América, but there are also many, who want it. Therefore, the issue of available seating capacity in the stadiums is of great importance,” he said, without mentioning whether this was one of the reasons for the request.

He also said that this is an exclusive request of the Colombian government and that they have not communicated with the Argentinean executive.

THE PANDEMIC IN COLOMBIA

Colombia continues without overcoming the third peak of the covid-19 pandemic, which began just after Easter, and health authorities confirmed this Thursday about 490 deaths and 16,086 cases of the disease.

In total, and according to the latest report of the Ministry of Health, 3,177,212 cases of covid-19 have been detected in Colombia, of which 104,273 are active (corresponding to 3.22% of the total) and 83,233 deaths occurred. In addition, 2,979,233 people have recovered, representing 93.7%.

The third wave initially hit Barranquilla and Medellin, the second-largest city in the country, at the beginning of April. But since a few weeks ago, the epicenter has again been the capital, Bogotá, where the Intensive Care Units (ICU) capacity exceeds 94%.