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By Our Correspondent

Brazil’s national team is preparing a boycott of Copa America, which will be held in the country this summer.

On June 13, the 47th edition of the South American championship will begin. Originally scheduled to take place in Colombia and Argentina, the former withdrew in May, with Argentina following suit last week.

CONMEBOL awarded the tournament to Brazil for the second time in a row after interference from Brazil’s far-right president, Joao Bolsonaro.

With almost 83,000 new cases confirmed on Thursday, Brazil is ready to host the Copa America against a backdrop of 469,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began (June 3).

Tite, Brazil’s head coach, announced on Thursday that his players had spoken with Rogério Caboclo, the president of the Brazilian football federation (CBF).

“They have an opinion, they exposed it to the president … and they will expose it to the public at the appropriate time,” Tite said, “That is why our captain Casemiro is absent today.”

Caboclo has threatened to remove former Middlesbrough midfielder Juninho Paulista (now the national team coordinator) if the players are not under control.

The squad, on the other hand, is unfazed. They’ve apparently started contacting key figures from the other Copa America finals in an attempt to rally support for their case.