In yet another shocking turn of events, Argentina has decided to suspend its soccer competitions due to the never-ending Covid-19 outbreak in the South American country, including the Copa de la Liga, which was already at the semifinals stage.
This is yet another attempt to halt the spread of the virus in a country that has already lost over 70,000 people to this disease since March 2020, now that they’ve reached an all-time high in positive cases.
The Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana, however, will continue to take place normally, according to local authorities. But what does this mean for the long-awaited Copa America 2021?
Argentina Suspends Soccer Due To Covid-19What Does This Mean For Copa America 2021
Argentina was set to be the lone host to this eventsince Colombia decided to withdrawits bid due to the social outroar and protests going on in the country. They would add a couple of new venues inside the Southern country.
The tournament is scheduled to start on June 13 as planned, as president Alberto Fernández has yet to say otherwise. As a matter of fact, just a couple of days ago he said that the country was ready to host the event.
Argentinean President Said The Country Was Ready To Host Copa America
“We were consulted and said yes. With all due care. This would be a Copa America for television, that must be said. Under those terms we would be willing to honor our commitment,” Fernandez said in a statement to local outlet C5N Argentina. “The rest depends on how everything evolves and what Colombia is also going to do.”
“We agreed with CONMEBOL to hold the Copa America and we are going to do it with the applicable restrictions,” Fernandez concluded.
This is certainly contradictory and will definitely raise plenty of concerns inside of CONMEBOL. The country has to shut down to halt the virus, yet they have no problem hosting an international soccer event. We’ll have to follow this story closely, as the continental tourney could be in jeopardy – yet again.