Just a few weeks before the scheduled Copa America kick-off, Argentina have put a stoppage to all footballing activities amidst the COVID-19 scare due to the second wave in the country. Previously, Colombia’s right to co-host the tournament was revoked on Thursday. Now that Argentina has been hit with Covid-19-related sanctions, the Copa America, which starts on June 13th, is in jeopardy.
Officially, it was attributed to a low likelihood of fans attending. Still, Colombia has been gripped by weeks of civil unrest, with at least 42 lives lost, and is also dealing with a second wave of the pandemic.
The Argentine Football Association has told the public that, in order to comply with President Alberto Fernandez’s health initiatives aimed at mitigating the second wave of the Covid 19 pandemic, it has agreed to suspend match programming in all local competitions it organizes until Sunday, May 30, 2021, inclusive.
Argentina FA, in a statement, said, “This Association has been working together with the national, provincial and municipal authorities since March 20, 2020, in the development of health protocols aimed at the care of the football family and society in general, respecting each and every one of the decisions taken. by our leaders and by epidemiological experts.”
“That is why, at this time where our beloved country must make an extra effort to control this anguishing pandemic that afflicts us, the AFA and all of us who make up football will once again accompany the national authorities by suspending the programming of matches corresponding to all local competitions for a period of 9 days.”
President Alberto Fernandez had previously stated that if Colombia withdraws, his country would be completely prepared to host the games. However, Argentina had been going through their worst ever stint of dealing with the Coronavirus. As a result, the President had to declare on Thursday that Argentina would go into complete lockdown for nine days to stop the virus from spreading. The tournament was supposed to be held from June 12 to July 12, 2020, but it has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
