South America’s football confederation CONMEBOL on Thursday said the Copa America will not be played in Colombia after the country asked to push back the event from June to November.
“Due to the international competition calendar and the logistics of the tournament, it is impossible to transfer Copa America 2021 to November,” the confederation said in a statement in response to a formal request by the Colombian government to reschedule the competition.
CONMEBOL assured that the tournament would take place and said that it would give more information about the new locations of the matches due to be contested in Colombia “in the coming days.”
Earlier on Thursday, the Colombian government said it would ask for a postponement of the tournament, already postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, in the hope the move would allow more spectators to watch the games safely.
“In this moment the impossibility of having spectators means that cup will not be the event that we all dream of,” Sport Minister Ernesto Lucena said in a press conference.
Last month, Colombia had said it intended to host its part of the delayed Copa America in June despite the pandemic but would do so behind closed doors.
Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez said a few days ago in a radio interview that his country would be willing to consider being the sole organizer of the event – if all health requirements were met.
The opening match of the tournament is currently scheduled for June 13 in Buenos Aires, while the final was supposed to be played on July 10 in Colombia’s Barranquilla.