By Samindra Kunti
June 12 – The 2015 Copa America began with a spectacular opening ceremony and a victory for the hosts Chile, but the tournament is taking place under a cloud amid corruption allegations against football administrators and politicians.
The Copa America is the world’s oldest continental competition, predating the World Cup by 14 years. The first editions of the tournament brought about fundamental change to the game as the standards of South American football rose dramatically, eventually leading to the organization of the 1930 World Cup. Now the Copa America has found its place in the post-World Cup season: it kicks off a new cycle of competitive matches with the South American World Cup qualifiers commencing in the autumn.
This year’s Copa America, however, has been overshadowed by events off the field. US authorities indicted eight South Americans, including Eugenio Figueredo and Nicolas Leoz, both former Conmebol presidents. The indictments include charges of bribery and kickbacks directly linked to the Copa America. The US authorities alleged that $110 million was paid in bribes by an international marketing company to members of the 10 Conmebol federations to secure the lucrative marketing and television rights for this and other Copa America tournaments.
These charges are also connected to the 2016 Copa America, which the United States is set to stage, but the revelations have thrown the preparations into turmoil as U.S. Soccer has delayed the announcement of the hosts cities.
Plenty of top football officials were absent from yesterday’s opening ceremony. Sepp Blatter, Juan Angel Napout, the president of Conmebol, and a group of observers from U.S. Soccer did not attend the curtain-raiser between Chile and Ecuador. At the same time, the Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s government has been rocked by corruption allegations, leading to the dismissal of five cabinet ministers.
Chile began their quest for a maiden Copa America title with a 2-0 win against Ecuador thanks to goals from Arturo Vidal and Eduardo Vargas. Brazil and Argentina are the favorites to win the tournament.