RIO DE JANEIRO: With only hours left for Kickoff, the uncertainty over the Copa America football tournament is not over. Kovid has been confirmed by 13 players, including the captain of the Venezuelan team that will face Brazil in the opening match, Thomas Rinken and his coaches. In addition, three Bolivian players and one staff member were found to be Kovid positive, the news agency AFP reported.
Brazil, the hosts of the opening match, will face Venezuela tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. Meanwhile, the Brazilian health minister confirmed that Kovid had found eight players on the Venezuelan team and four on the coaching staff. But Conmebol said the number of Kovid arrests was 13. Authorities said no one had any symptoms and everyone was quarantined at the team hotel.
The Bolivian Football Federation has announced that Kovid has confirmed four members of the Bolivian team. Kovid-affected Bolivian team members are also in the quarantine. Bolivia’s first match is against Paraguay on Sunday. In the case of Kovid, the match will not be postponed as Conmebol has given permission to add new players at the last minute. A final decision on the matter is expected soon.
The Copa America, which was scheduled to take place last year, has been postponed to this year due to Kovid. Argentina and Colombia were to host the Copa del Rey. But the expansion of Kovid caused Argentina and Colombia to lose ground due to internal problems. In the last days the venue was shifted to Brazil. There was a huge outcry against the organization of the tournament in Brazil under the Kovid situation. The Brazilian players also expressed their disagreement.
The Brazilian players have withdrawn from the decision to boycott the Copa America. The players, who were sharply critical of Conmabol, made it clear that they would play in the Copa with dissent. ‘Brazil was chosen as the venue for the Copa America, regardless of the health of the players or the fans. This cannot be accepted. The players did not try to see the politics in it. We will continue our opposition to the organizers and fulfill our commitment to the Brazilian national team.