Wow. Copa America has been moved to Brazil at 13 days notice !
https://twitter.com/CONMEBOL/status/1399366306944651264
Brazil, which has the second highest number of Covid deaths in the world, takes over from Argentina which is in the middle of its worst spike since the pandemic began.
And this comes a day or so after thousands took to the streets in Brazil to protest the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. 
Feels like the financial imperative to host the tournament trumps anything else here. This tournament has been played in 2015,2016, 2019 (also in Brazil) and now 2021. Hard to think of any reason but $$ foe why it really needs to happen.
To underline how strange this is, games will be played in the Amazonian capital Manaus, where a Covid variant rampaged through the population at the start of the year, overwhelming local hospitals. theguardian.com/world/2021/jan…
Conmebol, South American football’s governing body, made a point to thank Brazil‘a president @jairbolsonaro for giving the go ahead. Here’s a column on his handling of the pandemic: nytimes.com/2021/05/27/opi…
Oh, and by the way, Brazil’s top league and cup competitions will be taking place at the same time as Copa America.
According to @mart_fern Manaus will now not be one of the host cities. They are picking cities still, with several sites now offering up their venues. 🤯
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