Buenos Aires not among 2011 Copa America venues
June 25, 2009 – 3:28 amBUENOS AIRES, June 23 (Reuters) – La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires province, will stage the opening match and final of the 2011 Copa America staged by Argentina, provincial governor Daniel Scioli said on Tuesday.
The tournament will also be played at venues in Mendoza and San Juan in the major Andean wine-producing region in the west, the northwestern cities of Salta and Jujuy and the province of Santa Fe.
The national capital and Rosario, another leading soccer city, have been overlooked.
The 10 members of the South American Football Confederation will take part and invitations have been extended to Mexico and Japan, who have played in the tournament before.
“Today is the official start of the 2011 Copa America,” Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondona said at the presentation ceremony.
City of la Plata Stadium
The tournament was last held in Venezuela in 2007 when Brazil beat Argentina in the final.
Argentina last held the South American championship, the world’s oldest surviving international tournament, in 1987 when Diego Maradona’s world champions finished fourth. They jointly hold the record of 14 titles with Uruguay.
The modern City of La Plata stadium, better known as Estadio Unico, was inaugurated in June 2003 and is in the process of being fitted with a moveable roof. (Reporting by Rex Gowar, editing by Greg Stutchbury; to query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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SOURCE:
“Argentine capital not among 2011 Copa America venues”
Reuters, Wednesday June 24 2009
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