The South American football body CONMEBOL has decided to suspend Argentina’s hosting rights of the Copa America tournament due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in Argentina. CONMEBOL confirmed that in view of the current circumstances it has decided to suspend the organization of the Copa America in Argentina.
Copa America is currently without host nations as Argentina and Colombia were going to host the tournament together this summer. Both countries have been stripped from their hosting rights. The South American governing body of football is evaluating the offer of other countries that showed interest in hosting the continental tournament. They will be making a call on this situation on Monday when all officials are expected to hold an urgent meeting.
An Argentine poll published on Friday found that most respondents were against holding the tournament as the country experiences its worst phase of the pandemic so far. With less than two weeks before Copa America’s scheduled start, Argentina is under a nine-day lockdown and experiencing record daily infections.
CONMEBOL stripped Colombia from co-hosting duties last week over violent anti-government protests and growing safety concerns, along with increased worries over the spread of COVID-19. The Copa America was originally due to take place in 2020, but it was postponed for 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time since 1983, two countries were going to jointly host the tournament.
The first match was going to be played between Argentina and Chile on June 13 at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires but we could see a change in the schedule if CONMEBOL decides to hand over the hosting duties to another nation. All ten CONMEBOL national teams will participate in the competition and are divided into two geographical zones for the group stage. The South American teams have started training for Copa America, but there are huge doubts over the competition going ahead.