Colombia loses Copa America hosting rights

Article posted by Coliseum, May 24^th, 2021

Image: World Today News

The 2021 Copa America will no longer feature games in co-host Colombia after the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) decided to move games away from the country after a wave of civil unrest.

‘Reuters’ stated that the CONMEBOL sent out a statement which read, “CONMEBOL guarantees the realization of the 2021 Copa America and in the coming days will inform on where the games that were to be held in Colombia will be relocated.”

The 2021 edition was due to be held jointly by Colombia and Argentina.

The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) is the continental governing body of football in South America, and it is one of FIFA’s six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Paraguay, near Asunción.

‘Reuters’ further stated that ongoing protests in Colombia against the country’s head have forced CONMEBOL to arrive at the above decision.

The decision has been made less than a month before the opening match is due to take place as street protests are taking place against Colombian President Ivan Duque.

The tournament, which is set to be played between June 13^th and July 10^th, would have been the first Copa America to be hosted by two countries with Argentina the other scheduled host.

Argentina President Alberto Fernandez has already suggested his country could host the entire tournament if Colombia was unable to co-host.

However, Colombian authorities had asked CONMEBOL to postpone the tournament, with Sports Minister Ernesto Lucena requesting the tournament be moved to the end of 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

CONMEBOL said another postponement was not an option and would provide an update in the coming days on where the matches scheduled for Colombia will be relocated. The original 2020 tournament was postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic.

Protests in Colombia began in April and police and protestors clashed last week in the Cities of Pereira and Barranquilla, the latter of which was due to host the Copa America final.

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