RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Only hours after CONMEBOL confirmed through its Twitter account that Brazil would replace Colombia and Argentina as host of Copa América 2021 and thanked Jair Bolsonaro for the agreement, the federal government officially issued its first statement on Monday evening, and left the question of hosting the event undetermined.
“Nothing is certain,” said Chief of Staff Minister Luiz Eduardo Ramos, in a statement given at the Planalto Palace alongside National Secretary of Sports Marcelo Reis Magalhães. President Jair Bolsonaro and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), cited in the announcement by the South American organization, did not comment.
It was yet another chapter in a day of strong negative repercussions for the government after Brazil accepted hosting a championship of continental proportions, involving officials, press and delegation members from 10 South American teams, when the country is experiencing a new surge of Covid-19 infections, which has killed over 460,000 Brazilians and is heading for a third wave.
Senators in the Covid CPI (investigative committee) requested that CBF president Rogério Caboclo appear before the Senate to justify the decision, and legislators have filed lawsuits with the Supreme Court (STF) to bar the competition, as did the opposition PT.
Amid the debate about which cities would be able to host the matches, the governors of Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte announced that they will ban the Copa America from taking place in their states. São Paulo governor João Doria did not oppose hosting the event.
Throughout the day, CBF’s only public action was to cancel the press conferences of players Lucas Paquetá and Fred, scheduled for the afternoon in Teresópolis, Rio de Janeiro, where the Brazilian team is training and focusing on their next commitments.
On the other hand, the federal government has spoken only through Minister Luiz Eduardo Ramos, in the evening, to backtrack on the confirmation announced by CONMEBOL. “There is nothing certain, I want to state it clearly. We are midway through the process, but we are not going to shy away from a request, in case it is possible to meet it,” explained the Chief of Staff. “We are checking details. God willing, tomorrow we will have a final position.”
Despite not confirming it – yet -, Ramos pointed out that the Copa America games will not have a live audience and that each country’s delegation will be limited to 65 people. According to him, the vaccination of all involved will be a prerequisite for participation in the tournament.
However, he did not explain how immunization will be possible in time for the competition to kick off, since CONMEBOL has committed to start the games on June 13, a deadline too tight for any vaccine to be fully effective. “The venues will be the CBF’s responsibility, and according to their choices, they will negotiate with the states,” the Minister added.
Finally, Ramos advocated that Copa America be held, by comparing its scope to the existing national soccer championships, Series A and B, where clubs routinely travel long distances between widely scattered locations in the country.
“Why will Brazil host the Copa America during a pandemic? Gentlemen, first of all it was a demand made through the CBF, by CONMEBOL. Another thing, we are in full pandemic, but the Brazilian Championship, which involves 20 teams in the A series, 20 in the B series, is taking place with games all across Brazil,” he argued. “I don’t know why people are against the event, if the Brazilian games are taking place, state games, Libertadores and Sul- Americana games took place,” he said.
The Minister promised to decide on Tuesday. Bolsonaro has been an enthusiastic supporter of holding soccer games with an audience, despite the current surge of the pandemic. Hosting the tournament would therefore be an asset for him and his more radicalized base.
“The Brazilian government has demonstrated agility and decision-making capacity at a crucial moment. Brazil is living a moment of stability, has a proven structure and accumulated and recent experience in organizing a competition of this magnitude,” praised Alejandro Domínguez, president of CONMEBOL.
The problem is that the government is under pressure both due to the high number of infections and detection of new strains, such as the Indian variant, as well as the Covid CPI. The announcement of the event comes days after the Brazilian health regulatory agency ANVISA recommended banning the entry of foreigners from the United Kingdom, India, and South Africa for at least 14 days.
Source: El Pais