The playing of the Copa America Centenario, a tournament tentatively scheduled to celebrate 100 years of the quadrennial South American international tournament, is in “question” following last week’s arrests in the now infamous FIFA bribery scandal, says the South American confederation (CONMEBOL) secretary general Jose Luis Meiszner.
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On Monday, Meiszner, CONMEBOL’s second-most powerful official, told a radio station in Brazil: “Today one has to question the possibility of playing this tournament.”
“We have to be prepared for enormous turmoil to hold this event, given the rights holders are also being questioned,” Meiszner went on to say.
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The 2016 edition of the Copa America is currently scheduled to be be contested by 10 teams from CONMEBOL and six more from North, Central America and the Caribbean, including the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica.
With the head of CONCACAF currently in custody of Swiss law enforcement following his arrest last week, Meiszner firmly believes that holding next summer’s tournament, which is scheduled to be played in cities throughout the U.S., would be not only irresponsible, but also difficult.