There is now confirmation that Copa America 2020 has been postponed until summer 20201 due to the Coronavirus. The hearts of many South Americans have been crushed. This was going to be a special year for many reasons. Colombia and Argentina have been scheduled to host La Copa and still will in the coming year. The last time Colombia hosted, they won the finals and were champions. Argentina has hosted 10 times and have won six times.
In March 2017 it was announced that CONMEBOL, South America’s soccer rulers, proposed that the Copa America take place in 2020 even though they did a 2019 edition in Brazil. Normally, La Copa America is held every two years, but they have decided to switch from odd to even years. With this change, La Copa will now be held in the same year as the UEFA European Championship.
In October 2018, the FIFA council approved of the change with years and it would begin the summer of 2020. In March 2019, CONMEBOL announced that the two hosts would be Colombia and Argentina. The world has turned upside down in the one year since then. COVID-19 began to affect sports and the timeline of many competitions, CONMEBOL announced the new dates of La Copa America, June 11-July 11, 2021. “This is an extraordinary measure for an unexpected situation and responds to the fundamental need to avoid the exponential evolution of the virus,” said CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez. “It wasn’t easy to take this decision, but we must safeguard at all times the health of our players and all those who form part of the big South American football family. Have no doubts that the oldest international tournament in the world will be back stronger than ever in 2021.”
BREAKING: Copa America is postponed until June 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic pic.twitter.com/Kr3VlMotd2
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 17, 2020
FIFA also accepted CONMEBOL’s request to push back the start of the World Cup qualifiers due to the spread of the coronavirus.
La Copa America will take place in nine cities and nine venues, four in Colombia and five in Argentina. The four cities and stadiums in Colombia are: Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero in Cali, Atanasio Girardot Sports Complex in Medellin, Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez in Barranquilla and Estadio El Campín in Bogota. In Argentina the five cities and five venues are Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Cordoba, Estadio Ciudad de La Plata in La Plata, Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza and Estado Unico in Santiago del Estero.
There are 10 national teams that are always in the tournament, though CONMEBOL has recently invited two other countries, Australia and Qatar. The teams are as follows: Brazil (the current title holders), Colombia (co-host), Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina (co-host), Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Australia (debut appearance in La Copa) and Qatar (second appearance).
The 12 teams are divided into North and South Zones. Those allocations were announced in April of 2019.