South American football’s governing body — CONMEBOL has confirmed that Australia and Qatar have pulled out of the 2021 Copa America, scheduled to be held in June in Colombia and Argentina.
CONMEBOL’s deputy general secretary Gonzalo Belloso on Tuesday said that the two members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) would not be able to participate due to a clash with World Cup qualifying dates.
“The Copa America is absolutely going ahead. But Qatar and Australia, who had asked to take part, will not be able to come,” Belloso was quoted as saying by Argentine radio La Red.
“The Asian confederation has programmed World Cup qualification on the same dates as the Copa,” he added.
Meanwhile, the news was confirmed by both the Australian and Qatari football federations as Football Australia CEO James Johnson said: “It is with great disappointment that Australia cannot feature at the Copa America in 2021. To have participated in such a prestigious competition and to experience the unique South American football culture would have been a thrill for Australian players, staff and fans alike.”
On the other hand, Australia head coach Graham Arnold said: “The Socceroos’ players and staff were greatly looking forward to the unique opportunity of playing in the Copa America. On behalf of the team I thank CONMEBOL for the invitation, which would have presented our team with a fantastic opportunity to test itself against some of the world’s best.”
Meanwhile, the Qatari association in a statement: “This decision not to play Copa America has been made after the AFC decided to postpone the joint qualifiers’ dates for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 and FIFA 2022 World Cup,” said the Qatari association in a statement.”
Significantly, it will be the first time the Copa is played in Colombia and Argentina.
The Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires will host the tournament opener between Argentina and Chile while the final will be held at the Metro stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia on 10 July.