The panoramic view of the iconic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil which will host the Copa America final in July 2019.
DOHA: The Copa America draw will be made on January 24 next year, event organisers in Brazil have confirmed.
Qatar, one of the 12 participating countries, will know more about the 2019 Copa America playing schedule and their rival teams at the event’s draw ceremony to be conducted in Rio de Janeiro.
This was decided following the Extraordinary Council meeting of CONMEBOL, the football ruling body in South America. The meeting was held in Santiago, Chile, details showed yesterday.
The event will be held from June 14 to July 7.
On January 22 and 23, also in Rio de Janeiro, team representatives from all the participating countries will attend meetings related to event logistics like security, transportation, accommodation and marketing. Qatar Football Association (QFA) is expected to have a large presence at the meetings.
The 2019 Copa America - the 46th edition of the event - will be played across five cities in Brazil - Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Sao Paulo.
Qatar and Japan are two special sides invited for the hugely popular event. The 10 South American member countries of CONMEBOL include Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The opening is marked for the Morumbi Stadium (Sao Paulo) while the final will be held at the Maracaná Stadium (Rio de Janeiro).
Arena do Gremio (Porto Alegre), Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova (Salvador), Allianz Parque (Sao Paulo), Mineirao Stadium (Belo Horizonte) are the other stadiums chosen for the competition.
The invitation to play as a guests side was accepted by QFA President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani during a CONMEBOL Congress meeting held in Argentina earlier this yearQatar, hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, are seeking opportunities to play top-flight events in an effort to build a strong team for the tournament to be held in four years’ time.
By appearing in the event, Qatar could be playing against five-time winners Brazil as well as two-time champions Uruguay and Argentina.
Qatar were previously invited to play in the 2011 Copa America, but could not take part because of prior commitments.
Qatar’s next international assignment will be the 2019 AFC Asian Cup which will take place in the United Arab Emirates from January 5 to February 1.
