Brazil will host the 2021 Copa America, which is scheduled to be played between 13th June and 10th July. This was after Argentina was ruled out because of the rising cases of COVID-19 cases in the country.
Argentina made the shocking announcement on Sunday night, forcing the South America Football Confederation CONMEBOL to start looking into offers from other South American countries that had shown interest in hosting the tournament.
In Nigeria, football betting fans can expect plenty of activity on Nigerian bookmakers as they cover the tournament’s games. After deliberations, CONMEBOL confirmed that Brazil would be the new host.
The tournament was initially postponed last year due to the global pandemic, and it seems the South African football authority was not ready to postpone it again. Copa American usually features 10 South American countries.
Additionally, Qatar and Australia will feature in this year’s tournament as guest nations. Argentina and Colombia were supposed to host the tournament jointly in what would have been the first time two nations hosted the Copa America in its 105-year history.
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However, Colombia was dropped as a host following protests against President Ivan Duque. On the other hand, Argentina’s coronavirus infections have surged, forcing the government to impose lockdown measures. So far, over 77000 people have lost their lives to the pandemic in Argentina.
The new host, Brazil, has recorded the second-highest deaths globally, having lost nearly half a million of its citizens to the pandemic. There are still new infections in the country even as it races against time to vaccinate its citizens.
Financial Implications
The Copa American organizers are unwilling to call off the tournament because of the financial implications. The 2019 Copa America generated 118 million USD, which was the second-largest annual revenue source after the Copa Libertadores, the equivalent of the Champions League in Europe. Each competing nation is supposed to receive 4 million USD this year, and the winner will get an extra 10 million USD.
Brazilian Players’ Message
However, the Brazillian National team reluctantly agreed to participate in the Copa America despite concerns over the 11th-hour decision to stage the tournament in Brazil.
The players took to social media to voice their concern claiming they were not satisfied with CONMEBOL’s decision to move the tournament to Brazil.
However, they reiterated that their aim was not to make the organization of Copa America a political discussion.
What about the Brazilian Public?
The Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that the country was free to host the South American tournament despite the coronavirus pandemic.
In the unusual virtual session, most of the high court’s 11 justices ruled against plaintiffs who had argued that the tournament posed an unacceptable health risk to the Brazilian public.
In a different poll conducted on the Brazilians, it was evident that the public was opposed to the idea. The poll revealed that almost two-thirds of the Brazilian public did not like the idea because it would help spread the coronavirus.
So far, eight Venezuelan players and three of their counterparts from Bolivia had tested positive before the tournament kicked off. Venezuela has had to summon 15 new players to its national team.
Nevertheless, CONMEBOL remained adamant that the matches will be played as scheduled.
