The 2021 Copa America, the 47th edition of this prestigious competition, is once again under turmoil, with CONMEBOL announcing that Argentina have been stripped of the hosting rights due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in the country.
This move was revealed late on Sunday, with South America's football governing body pointing to the surge in coronavirus cases as the reason behind this decision. With kick-off being only a few weeks away, CONMEBOL now find themselves in a race against time to find a new host or will risk scrapping the tournament altogether.
The 2021 edition, which was postponed from last summer due to the COVID-19 outbreak, was set to be co-hosted by Colombia and Argentina. Earlier this month, Colombia were ruled incapable of staging the tournament due to deadly political unrest in the country, meaning Copa America have just under two weeks to find a new home as the competition is scheduled to kick off on June 13.
"CONMEBOL informs that in view of the current circumstances it has decided to suspend the organization of the Copa America in Argentina," the federation announced via their official Twitter account.
A CONMEBOL informa que, em atenção às circunstâncias presentes, resolveu suspender a organização da Copa América na Argentina. A CONMEBOL analisa a oferta de outros países que mostraram interesse em abrigar o torneio continental. Em breve serão anunciadas novidades nesse sentido.
— CONMEBOL (@CONMEBOLBR) May 31, 2021
"CONMEBOL is evaluating the offer of other countries that showed interest in hosting the continental tournament."
Chile and the United States are being touted as the likeliest destinations, with the latter staging the successful Copa América Centenario back in 2016. La Albiceleste, who are keen on ending their 28-year wait for silverware, will be unable to enjoy the home advantage as initially expected.
A total of 10 teams will be battling it out for the title: Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile, and Paraguay in Group A, and Colombia, defending champions Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru in Group B. Australia and Qatar were the two invitees but were forced to withdraw due to a calendar issue after the tournament was pushed back a year.
