Qatar & Australia withdraw from 2021 Copa America: CONMEBOL confirmed

Qatar and Australia have pulled out of 2021 Copa America due to a clash with the 2022 Asian World Cup qualifiers, a spokesperson for the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) said.

Both teams were invited to participate as guests in the tournament, which is scheduled to take place in Colombia and Argentina from June 11 to July 10.

CONMEBOL Secretary-General, Gonzalo Belloso, said, "Qatar and Australia will not be able to come because there will be qualifying rounds in their continents on those dates. The Copa America is 100 percent confirmed. The idea is that it will be played with stadiums at 30 per cent capacity."

Australia got into Group A along with Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay, and Qatar got into Group B with reigning champions Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru.

Belloso said the competition would not be changed except for a reduction in the number of matches.

Initially scheduled for 2020, the 47th edition of the Copa America has been postponed by a year due to Covid-19.

This is the first time that the world's oldest international soccer tournament will be hosted in two countries.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, Belloso said there was no chance the competition would be cancelled and hoped that fans could attend the matches.