April showed the race against the clock that the South American Football Confederation disputes 41 days before the start of the Copa América, scheduled in Argentina and Colombia from June 11 to July 10.
While in Argentina, one of the host countries together with Colombia, President Alberto Fernández himself put the tournament into question on April 15, his counterpart Iván Duque ratified it in the Andean country despite the pandemic, in an interview which he granted to Efe on April 20.
«I don’t want to frustrate the spectacle of the America’s Cup, what I want is for us to be very sensible, very careful. We have some time ahead to see how things evolve and to see how we can master this problem, “said Fernández.
“I have a very clear commitment from Colombia to Conmebol and we have said: we are prepared for the Copa América to be played in Colombia with biosafety guarantees. As for us, which is a group of five teams, we have said: yes, we are ready, “said Duque in an interview with Efe.
Despite the new peak of the pandemic, Conmebol, headed by its president Alejandro Domínguez, has announced that the tournament will be played and therefore welcomed the donation of 50,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine so that all those involved in their tournaments are immunized against the coronavirus.
Conmebol announced the distribution to its ten member associations of the 50,000 vaccines, doses that will have the “first and last name” of the beneficiaries.
The vaccines, which arrived in Montevideo (Uruguay), will once be distributed by each association, making Conmebol the “first civil organization in the world to promote a massive immunization campaign reaching thousands of players, players, referees, technicians and collaborators, “said the entity in a statement.
In that sense, Conmebol reiterated that “vaccines will be to make international competitions safer,” starting with the 2021 Copa América, and the male and female tournaments already underway.
In this regard, Conmebol explained that the protocol developed “practically guarantees that each dose has a first and last name and that they cannot be diverted or used in people who are not part of the objective of this campaign.”
And while the covid-19 continues to wreak havoc in South America and even clubs in Colombia, such as Águilas Doradas, and Aucas, in Ecuador, had to face two of their matches in their leagues with seven footballers due to multiple infections, football so far seems immune to stopping again.
Here are other events from April.
.one. Barty and Hurkacz, the kings of tennis in Miami
Australian Ashley Barty revalidated the title at the Miami Masters 1,000 by beating Canadian Bianca Andreescu in the final, who retired with a sprained right ankle when she lost 6-3 4-0 in 58 minutes of the game.
Barty, the one in the world, adds the Miami tournament to the triumph in Melbourne as achievements in 2021 to add to a record that has already accumulated ten individual titles, including Roland Garros and the WTA finals in 2019.
While the men reigned the Polish Hubert Hurkacz, who won his first title in a Masters 1,000, after beating the Italian Jannik Sinner by 7-6 (4) and 6-4, after an hour and 46 minutes of play.
Hurkacz, 37 in the world and 24 years old, won the third title of his career. The most important so far in his second participation in Miami.
.two. Musgrove pitches no-hitter for Padres
San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove pitched the first no-hitter in his team’s history on April 9 in a 3-0 win over the Texas Rangers.
The Padres were the only active major league franchise without a no-hitter.
In his second start for San Diego, Musgrove struck out 10 and faced 28 batters, one over the minimum.
.3. Aldridge retires from NBA due to heart problems
Brookly Nets center LaMarcus Aldridge announced his retirement from the NBA in April after experiencing an irregular heartbeat during a game against the Lakers.
“For 15 years I have put basketball first and now is the time to put my health and my family first,” he announced.
Aldridge, 35, explained that he had an irregular heartbeat during last Saturday’s game against the Lakers, after which his condition worsened.
“Although I am better now, what I felt with my heart that night was one of the scariest things I have ever experienced,” he added.
.4. Defense and Justice, champion of the Recopa Sudamericana
The Argentine Defense and Justice, winner of the 2020 South American Cup, was proclaimed champion of the South American Recopa in the penalty shootout against Palmeiras, who arrived in Brasilia with a 1-2 advantage and lost by the same score in regulation time .
In an emotional final, Defensa y Justicia neutralized the defeat suffered in Buenos Aires, with a whip from outside the box from winger Marcelo Benítez, in the 93rd minute.
Earlier, midfielder Raphael Veiga gave the Sao Paulo team a penalty in the 22nd minute and eight minutes later, winger Braian Romero equalized for the Argentines, who forced extra time in injury time when Libertadores champion Palmeiras looked already champion.
Both teams finished with 10 players. In the penalty shootout, Luiz Adriano and goalkeeper Weverton missed for Palmeiras and gave the title to Defense and Justice. EFE (HN)