Colombia's Sports Minister Ernesto Lucena suggests possibility of postponing Copa América due to COVID-19 pandemic

The Minister of Sports of Colombia, Ernesto Lucena, stated on Thursday that it is likely that the Copa América, scheduled for June and July in Colombia and Argentina, will be postponed if FIFA decides to postpone the 2020 Euro Cup due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The indication we have is that everything depends on what happens with the Euro Cup. If the Euro Cup gets postponed, it is very likely that the Copa América will also be postponed," said Lucena in an interview with the program Nexo ESPN.

However, the minister clarified that FIFA is the competent authority to decide and that Colombia "must be part of this fight" against the pandemic that has paralyzed the world.

Lucena also stated that the Colombian government does not rule out requesting the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) to postpone the tournament if the COVID-19 continues to spread in the country, where there are nine confirmed cases.

"If we see that the outbreak is uncontrollable, we would request Conmebol to postpone the Copa América," said Lucena in statements collected by Caracol Radio.

In order to contain the COVID-19, Colombian President Iván Duque declared a "sanitary emergency" from today until May 30, which entails the cancellation of all public events with more than 500 people.

The 47th edition of the Copa América, the oldest national team tournament in the world, will have Australia and Qatar as guests. There will be 38 matches and the inaugural match is scheduled for June 12 at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, while the final will take place on July 12 at the Metropolitano Stadium in Barranquilla.

On the other hand, FIFA accepted on Thursday to postpone the start of the South American Qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, as requested the day before by the ten partner countries of Conmebol, in order to prevent the advancement of the pandemic.

In a letter released by Conmebol, FIFA promises to work together to set the new dates for the matches and find solutions to what it called an "exceptional situation". EFE