13 Days Before Kick-off, CONMEBOL Revokes Argentina's Right To Host The 2021 Copa America

The Argentine national team is preparing for the 2021 Copa America (Twitter @afa)

JAKARTA - The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) on Monday said Argentina would no longer host the Copa America. What is wrong?

CONMEBOL's decision leaves the tournament in doubt just 13 days before the first match kicks off.

The tournament between the 10 South American nations was scheduled to be held in Argentina and Colombia between June 13 and July 10, but Colombia had to be stripped of co-hosts on May 20 and Argentina is now following due to what CONMEBOL calls the "current state of affairs".

CONMEBOL has not disclosed why they made this decision, but Argentina is currently suffering from a spike in COVID-19 cases.

"CONMEBOL is analyzing bids from other countries that have shown interest in hosting this continental tournament", the federation said in a brief statement.

The decision was announced shortly before 11 p.m. Argentine time and was another blow to the tournament which was postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year's Copa America will be the first to feature a co-host, but Colombia was stripped of co-hosting after a wave of protests demanding social and economic change spread across the country.

CONMEBOL then decided the 15 matches scheduled in Colombia would be moved to Argentina, which will host the other 13 or elsewhere.

Meanwhile, CONMEBOL secretary-general Gonzalo Belloso last week said the federation was in discussions with Chilean officials to hold some matches there.

CONMEBOL's reputation has taken a hit in recent years. The organization was even forced to move the second leg of the 2018 Copa Libertadores final to Madrid because of the fan violence problem that occurred in Buenos Aires, Argentina.