The relocation is fixed, Brazil will step in as the host for the Copa America. But in view of around 460,000 coronavirus deaths, the resistance is enormous.
President Jair Bolsonaro was still portraying himself as the savior of the Copa America, when the desperate calls from the Brazilians for their national hero could no longer be ignored. “Neymar, I want to tell you something,” pleaded Senator Renan Calheiros. The superstar, celebrated, loved and adored in his home country, should “not agree that this tournament takes place in Brazil”.
But the heavily controversial Bolsonaro has now finally confirmed that the country with the second highest corona death rate worldwide will step in as the host. “There will be,” said the 66-year-old with a view to the oldest national football tournament – and sparked fierce opposition.
In addition to Rio de Janeiro with the world-famous Maracana, other arenas of the 2014 World Cup and Goiania are planned as venues for the Copa (June 13th to July 11th) in the capital Brasilia and Cuiaba. Spectators are not allowed in the stadiums.
The stars around Neymar have not yet commented on the relocation to the Sugar Loaf. The Selecao is preparing for the World Cup qualifier against Ecuador in the Teresopolis training center near Rio, and the daily press conferences have been canceled. But the criticism from other areas is enormous.
“It is insane to have such an event here,” said Brazilian infectious disease specialist Jose David Urbaez. The epidemiologist Pedro Hallal even spoke of “a mockery of the 460,000 victims of the pandemic”. This is probably one of the reasons why some governors opposed the tournament.
Corona pandemic is raging in Brazil
Hundreds of thousands of deaths, a sluggish vaccination campaign and dangerous virus variants – the pandemic is still raging more violently in Brazil than in almost any other country.
In the Senate, a committee of inquiry is now dealing with the ignorant politics of the right-wing populist president, who had repeatedly played down the virus.
The reactions at the continental association CONMEBOL were completely different after the short-term termination of Colombia and Argentina as hosts. President Alejandro Dominguez thanked Bolsonaro and promised that football would “bring joy and passion to millions of South Americans”. The tournament, on the other hand, secures important TV revenues of around 100 million US dollars for the national associations, which have been hard hit by the corona crisis.
For Bolsonaro, against whom there were nationwide protests over the weekend, the Copa America is a welcome marketing tool. “It is not this competition in which we now have to compete, but that of fast vaccination,” said Calheiros, who is leading the investigation against the head of government. Opposition politicians have already turned to the Supreme Court to stop the Copa from taking place.
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