A Colombia fan. (AP)

A Colombia fan. (AP)

LatAm in Focus: A Complicated Copa América

By Chase Harrison

The tournament takes place in Brazil, which wasn’t even slated to host. The Athletic’s Felipe Cárdenas explains why politics and the pandemic have super fans and players nervous.

"You have the most popular national team...perhaps in the world publicly against and opposing this tournament being held in their country."

There are other reasons for concern. “What happens if Brazil has a poor performance and the public outcry against the tournament goes to another level? If a player test positive for COVID-19? If there are public disturbances around the stadium?” asks Cárdenas. He says that any of these scenarios could impact the ability of the region to host major sporting events in the future, including a South American regional bid to host the World Cup in 2030—notably on the 100-year anniversary of the first one held in Uruguay.

Even if it goes well, Cárdenas says it puts fans like himself in an uncomfortable position: “They're in this philosophical sort of crisis of whether or not to support their national team.

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Katie Hopkins produced this episode. The music in this podcast was performed at Americas Society in New York. Learn more about upcoming concerts at musicoftheamericas.org.

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