Organisers of this summer’s Copa America will meet on Monday to determine a new tournament host after confirming Argentina will not stage the competition due to a surge in coronavirus cases in the country.
South America’s biggest football tournament kicks off in just 13 days and footballing body Conmebol have already had to deny Colombia co-hosting duties.
The Copa America has been delayed 12 months because of the pandemic and organisers will meet to decide whether the tournament can be moved at such short notice.
“Conmebol informs that in view of the present circumstances it has been decided to suspend the staging of the Copa América in Argentina,” a statement read. “Conmebol will analyse the offers of other countries that showed interest in hosting the continental tournament. News in this regard will be announced shortly.”
Who could host Copa America 2021?
Argentina and Colombia initially earned co-hosting rights for the Copa America back in 2019, beating the US, who had put forward a bid to stage the competition for the second time in its history, having played hosts in 2016.
Earlier in May Colombia was stripped of its hosting duties following widespread protests in the country. Argentina, meanwhile, is currently under a national lockdown to stem a surge in Covid-19 cases that have averaged over 35,000 daily infections over the past seven days.
Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela have all offered to help out and stage games this summer, while Paraguay is also a proposed option. Brazil, which hosted the 2019 tournament, is averaging 61,000 coronavirus cases a day.
Meanwhile, the US could be granted staging rights – although moving the tournament to North America risks delaying the start. The Copa America is due to begin on 12 June and a further complication is the US is staging the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup later this summer, with tournament organisers keen for the two competitions not to clash.
The Gold Cup is taking place across nine US host cities and kicks off on 10 July, the proposed date of the Copa America final.
Conmebol officials will meet on Monday morning to discuss their options.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3iiHwL9
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