Copa America 2021: The Game Will Be Played In Brazil This Year

Copa America 2021 is the most prominent football tournament in South America. 2021 is the 47th edition of the tournament that has moved to Brazil from Argentina and Colombia. The football news of the last-minute change in the host of the event was all over. 

This year, in 2021, the football tournament will be played in Brazil. On Monday, the governing body, i.e., CONMEBOL, tweeted- “The CONMEBOL Copa America 2021 will be played in Brazil! Tournament start and end dates are confirmed. The venues and the fixtures will be informed by CONMEBOL in the next few hours. The oldest national team tournament in the world will make the whole continent vibrate!” The president of CONMEBOL also expressed his gratitude to Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian President. He thanked them for opening the gates in the situation of emergency and accepting to host the tournament in their country. 

But now the question arises- Why was this decision made? Why CONMEBOL selected Brazil for Copa America 2021 tournament? What will be the dates of the events? Where will it take place? If you are looking for the answers to these questions, then don’t fret. This article will clear all your queries. Read this complete article and inform yourself about the highlight of football news- Copa America 2021. 

Why Has The Venue Of Copa America 2021 Been Changed?

Originally Argentina and Colombia were chosen to co-host the Copa America tournament in 2020. In the history of the tournament, it would have been the first time that two countries will co-host the event. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, the match got postponed by 12 months. The authorities decided to suspend the tournament and planned it for the year 2021.

The situation took another twist in 2021, with an unbelievable increase in the COVID-19 cases in South America. As soon as the winters arrived in the continent, the situation of coronavirus got triggered, and it experienced a massive rise in cases. The problem was similar in Argentina. Due to the surge in the number of cases and strict lockdown restrictions, Argentina was ruled out from the list of hosts. The situation in Columbia got further complicated due to social unrest. The anti-government protests and violent situation lead to various deaths in the country. Amidst the rally, the country won’t be able to host the Copa America 2021 event. 

In the context of the ongoing situation, CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation) stripped both the countries of their hosting duty and announced the football news of the new host of Copa America 2021- Brazil on May 31, 2021. The organizers further clarified that they can’t call off the event due to its economic significance. They explained that they bought the event in 2019 for $118 million, which is the second-highest source of annual revenue for the continent.

Why CONMEBOL Selected Brazil As The Host Of Copa America 2021?

After being updated with the latest football news, you must be wondering why CONMEBOL picked Brazil to host Copa America 2021? Well, there is a specific reason behind this decision. 

Brazil is one of the countries that has unrivaled stadium infrastructure. It also has the venues which were built back in 2014 for the World Cup. Apart from this, another reason behind the selection was to avoid the logistical challenges. Hosting the tournament in South American countries will help them eliminate the hassle of logistics compared to the USA or any other country. Also, Brazil is a titleholder of the COPA America tournament. It has won its ninth title in the year 2019. 

Even though Brazil has also been hit by coronavirus just like its neighboring countries, from the last month onwards, the COVID-19 cases in the country slowed down. The president of CONMEBOL- Alejandro Dominguez, stated, "Brazil is experiencing a moment of stability, has proven infrastructure and accumulated experience, and recently organized a competition of this magnitude."

Stadium Where Copa America 2021 Will Be Played And The Selected Dates?

Brazil- the host for Copa America 2021, will open the tournament on June 13th, 2021. The opening match will be played at iconic Mane Garrincha Stadium, Brasilia, between Brazil and Venezuela. The matches will continue from June 14th to June 28th. After this, the quarter-finals will take place on July 2 and July 3. Two quarter-final matches will be played each day. The semi-finals are then scheduled for July 5 and July 6. Then comes the finale of Copa America 2021. The Maracanã stadium at Rio de Janeiro will host the finale on July 10, 2021. It is the same place where the finale of FIFA World Cup 2014 took place. 

In this tournament, ten teams will take part, and they will be divided into two groups as per their geographical zones. Along with the ten teams, there will be two invited teams, i.e., Australia and Qatar. These teams were the winners of the AFC Asian Cup.  

All the matches of the tournament will be played at five stadiums in four different cities of Brazil. The Brazilian government declared four cities- Brasília, Goiânia, Cuiabá, and Rio de Janeiro to be the host of the tournament. In these four cities, five stadiums are picked. Rio de Janeiro is the city whose two stadiums will be used for Copa America 2021. Following is the list of all the stadiums and their respective cities where these matches will be played. Stay updated with the latest football news and enjoy all the matches.