South American soccer’s governing body CONMEBOL has enough prize money to get through the Copa America, but might struggle to meet its commitments for future tournaments, the head of Paraguay’s soccer association (APF) said on Tuesday.
Alejandro Dominguez was responding to media reports suggesting CONMEBOL, which runs soccer at a continental level, did not have the money to pay the winners of the tournament taking place in Chile.
The prize money comes principally from sponsors and media companies that buy the rights to broadcast the tournament.
The reports said some of those companies would not be able to pay if their accounts were frozen as part of a US-led investigation into corruption surrounding soccer’s world governing body FIFA.
“As far as I understand, neither the Copa America nor the Copa Libertadores are at risk,” Dominguez told journalists in La Serena, Chile, where Paraguay have been based during the tournament.
The Copa Libertadores is South America’s top club competition and the equivalent of Europe’s Champions League.
“It is true that these companies have literally disappeared,” Dominguez said. “I understand that the top executives at CONMEBOL are worried about this because there are some very prestigious tournaments coming up in the future.”
As well as the Copa America and the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL also organizes the South American qualifiers for the World Cup, which start in October.
The winners of this year’s Copa America should receive US$4 million in prize money, the runners-up US$3 million and the third and fourth-placed teams US$2 million and US$1 million respectively.
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