:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69365652/1232584706.0.jpg)
The 2021 edition of the Copa America is in doubt today, just two weeks before it was set to kick off, with organisers CONMEBOL forced to suspend the tournament with host country Argentina experiencing a spike in coronavirus cases and entering a national lockdown.
This comes shortly after co-hosts Colombia were deemed unable to host due to protests against the government and the ongoing pandemic. With both proposed hosts unable to do so, it leaves the summer tournament—originally scheduled to take place in 2020—in doubt.
“CONMEBOL is analysing offers from other countries that have shown interest in hosting the continental tournament,” read a statement from South American football’s governing body, introducing the possibility they will still attempt to hold the tournament in some form.
Other countries that had bid on hosting the tournament before it was delayed to 2021 include the United States, which could make for an appealing alternative for organisers now, but moving an entire tournament this size at short notice poses obvious difficulties.
The decision as to whether to try to push ahead with a belatedly relocated Copa America or to cancel the tournament entirely will impact the summer plans of Liverpool’s Brazilian trio, Alisson Becker, Roberto Firmino, and Fabinho Tavares.