The South American Football Association (CONMEBOL) moved the Copa América to Brazil on Monday, two weeks before the start of the tournament. However, that does not mean that the South American championship will actually be played there. A chaotic situation has arisen, now that various local authorities have indicated that they do not want to organize the tournament and there are also voices from some participants that they are not playing in the ‘epicenter of the corona pandemic in South America’.
The Copa América was initially scheduled to be played in Argentina and Colombia between June 13 and July 10, but the South American Football Association previously scrapped Colombia as a host country due to the tense political situation in the country. Argentina was subsequently also removed as a host country, presumably due to the increasing number of corona infections in the country. In that respect, the surprise was great when the COMNEBOL decided to allocate the Copa América to Brazil, as the country is severely affected by the corona pandemic.
There were reports on social media with the hashtag #NaoVaiterCopa (roughly translated: There will be no Copa). Brazil is still struggling with the necessary problems to get the corona virus under control. Currently, more than 460,000 deaths and more than 16 million infections have been recorded. There are now also voices from politicians that Brazil would not be able to organize the Copa América in the current situation. Luiz Eduardo Ramos, Chief of Staff to Brazilian President Jaïr Bolsonaro, did not want to confirm that the tournament will actually be played in Brazil, but he refuted the criticism.
“The Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores, also international sporting events, were played in Brazil, without governors falling over it. Now that the government is only leaving the possibility to organize the Copa América, there is criticism everywhere, ”Ramos writes on Twitter. Several states – including Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul and Pernambuco – are strongly opposed to receiving the Copa América, while elsewhere at the regional level there are question marks about the organization of the tournament by Brazil.
The CONMEBOL decision to move the Copa América to Brazil is not only causing unrest at the government level. Olé writes that the Argentine national team reacted ‘shocked’ to the decision. “It is not pleasant to go to the epicenter of the corona pandemic in South America to play there,” he said. Olé the opinion of the Argentinian national team. Chile and the United States were previously put forward by South American media to organize the Copa América, although the question was immediately asked whether they would be able to receive the tournament in the short term.