The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) decided to withdraw Colombia as one of the venues for the Copa América, a tournament that is scheduled to start on June 13. The Government of that country had asked to postpone the event to the end of the year due to the pandemic, a request rejected by the governing body of South American football.
The XLVII edition of the Copa América soccer, one of the oldest tournaments in the world, continues to face a sea of uncertainty. The event, which was presented as historic when taking place in two venues for the first time, lost one of them a few days after the initial whistle.
In a statement issued on the night of Thursday, May 20, the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) confirmed that Colombia will not host the tournament. Although the statement does not give reasons, the difficult health situation and the wave of protests in the country (which have had the rejection of the contest as one of their slogans) ended up burying the organization in the coffee country.
At the same time, in response to the Colombian government’s request to postpone the start of the tournament to the end of the year, Conmebol responded that “for reasons related to the international competition calendar and the tournament’s logistics, it is impossible to move the Copa América 2021 to the month of November”,
Prior to the announcement of the governing body of South American football, the Minister of Sports of Colombia, Ernesto Lucena, had indicated that the Executive of Iván Duque requested the postponement of the tournament due to the impossibility of allowing public in the stadiums due to the health situation of the country.
In the text, Conmebol maintains that in the coming days it will announce the relocation of the matches that were to be played in Colombian territory.
Colombian government supported the petition on the pandemic and not on public order reasons
According to the Colombian authorities, the decision to have requested the postponement of the tournament responds to the fact that it would not be possible to guarantee the presence of the public in the stadiums within the next few months due to the health situation.
“The most important thing in an event of this magnitude is the capacity of the public (…) The impossibility of having capacity makes the Cup not an event that we all dream of (…) On that basis we request that, both for Colombia and for Argentina, a period is given where we can carry out this event in the best possible way with fans in the stadiums, which in the end are the ones that give life and color to the Copa América, “Lucena explained.
However, despite being consulted about it, the representative of the Government of Iván Duque did not mention that the request was the product of the social and political crisis that the country has been going through since April 28, when a large part of the population came out to demonstrate and reject government measures, such as tax reform.
Additionally, in recent days a movement has grown in the country that opposes the holding of the tournament, in part, because it considers that it is not the time to organize a football tournament when there are more urgent needs to attend to.
“The participants in the national strike have had space to talk with the Government (…) There is a great tendency that does not want the Copa América but there are also a large number of Colombians who do. That is why the specific reason is that we can have capacity in stadiums, “added the minister.
The climate of violence and confrontation that exists in some cities of Colombia, many blocked for days, led Conmebol to transfer the meetings of Colombian clubs in international tournaments (Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana) to other places in the region.
However, and despite the tense climate, the fourth date of the Copa Libertadores allowed the Junior and América de Cali teams to develop their matches in the city of Barranquilla, in the north of the country. In both matches, the action had to stop for a few minutes because the tear gas, launched by the police forces to disperse the protesters who were in the vicinity of the stadium, affected the players.
Argentina advances towards the Copa América amid a wave of Covid-19 infections
In Argentina, the Government of Alberto Fernández, which had been cautious about holding the tournament, announced on May 17 that it is in a position to organize the entire event, under the restrictions required by the pandemic.
“We have confirmed our decision to host the Copa América. Conmebol asked us to do so and we have said yes, with all the restrictions required by the pandemic (…) Within these terms, we would be willing to fulfill our commitment,” he explained Fernández during an interview with the local media C5N.
However, the health situation in Argentina is not the best. On May 19, the country registered a new record of infections in a single day with 39,652 infections, while 494 deaths associated with the disease were recorded, according to the bulletin issued by the Ministry of Health
This situation led the Argentine government to establish a state of maximum alert for the health crisis and a total confinement of nine days between May 22 and 30.
“We are living the worst moment since the pandemic began (…) Beyond what each one thinks, we must assume the gravity of this moment and we must unite to overcome this catastrophe,” Fernández said when making the announcement.
Amid the expectation, the president of the Chilean Football Federation, Pablo Milad, pointed out during an interview cited by the AP news agency on May 18 that the Government of his country has shown support in case it is requested. host the Cup.
“We have not had any direct communication from Conmebol, but I have spoken with the president to let him know that we are here if necessary,” he said.
With EFE, Reuters and AP
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source https://pledgetimes.com/conmebol-rejects-the-postponement-request-and-withdraws-colombia-as-the-venue-for-the-copa-america/
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