Qatar and Australia have given up on participating in the 2021 Copa America for which they were invited, due to a scheduling problem, an official from the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol), organizer of the tournament, said on Tuesday. .
It is an indirect consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. Due to the calendars turned upside down by the health crisis, Qatar and Australia will not be able to honor their invitation to the 2021 Copa America, scheduled from June 11 to July 11, 2021 in Colombia and Argentina.
The two selections, which depend on the Asian confederation, are selected for eliminations matches of the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup. The interruption of the competitions, in 2020, forced the authorities to postpone several of these qualifying matches.
Days off instead
Qatar and Australia will not be replaced, Gonzalo Belloso, secretary general of the Confederation of South American Football (Conmebol) told Argentinian radio Network. “The days of the matches of the two invited nations, their opponents will have a day of rest. The Copa will keep all its splendor,” he said, insisting that the competition was well and truly maintained.
Australia, of which it was to be the first participation, should have faced Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Urugay during the group stage of this 47th edition of the Copa America (initially scheduled for 2020 , but postponed due to Covid-19). Qatar, already invited during the 2019 edition, had been poured into the other group with Colombia, Brazil, defending champion, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
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