The Brazilian government confirmed on Tuesday the celebration of the Copa América and reported that the tournament will have at least four venues in the South American country, after Argentina and Colombia gave up organizing it.
The Copa América matches, which are expected to start on June 13, will be played without an audience in Mato Grosso, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and Goiás, as announced by the Minister of the Presidency, Luiz Ramos.
«Confirmed the Copa América in Brazil. Coherence won! The Brazilian flag that hosts the matches of the Libertadores, Sudamericana, not to mention the regional and Brazilian championships, could not turn its back on a traditional championship like this,” the minister wrote on Twitter.
Despite the fact that Minister Ramos confirmed four venues, the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, even affirmed in an act held on Tuesday that the country is considering five venues, the four mentioned, although he did not reveal the name of the fifth state.
He also stressed that the four venues already confirmed are ready to “host the Copa América.”
The leader of the Brazilian extreme right was from the beginning in favor of hosting the tournament, despite the worrying advance of the pandemic and the high circulation of more contagious variants, such as P.1, of Brazilian origin.
The celebration of this Copa América is wrapped in a huge controversy after the two original venues gave up on it: Colombia, due to the violent protests in its territory, and Argentina, due to the critical situation of its hospitals.
With the tournament in the air, Conmebol announced Brazil as the new and only venue and specifically thanked Bolsonaro for “opening the doors” of the country to the Copa América.
In another act earlier, Bolsonaro assured that he has the support of his entire cabinet, including the Ministry of Health, for the celebration of the event in Brazilian territory.
However, this decision has generated outrage among political sectors, from the left to the center-right, and epidemiological specialists, when the country is experiencing a new uptick in covid-19 infections.
With 462,000 deaths and 16.5 million infected, Brazil is the country in Latin America most affected by the coronavirus; the second in the world with the most deaths, after the United States; and the third with the most positives, behind the North Americans and India. (GG) (ESPNDEPORTES.COM)