South American football says: “What pandemic?”

South America’s football confederation Conmebol is infamous for its questionable management decisions, with its hectic and nonsensical fixture lists, leniency toward racism, and myriad allegations of corruption. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the governing body of South American football has delivered more of the same, coming under fire for its handling of the sport amid a health crisis. 

With over 538,000 Covid-19 deaths in South America, and countries such as Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay facing dangerous case peaks, football on the continent continues largely as normal.

Indeed, on Tuesday, Conmebol head Alejandro Domínguez announced that the international Copa América tournament will go ahead in the middle of the year — with fans in the stadium. Argentina and Colombia share hosting duties, and stadiums will be 30 percent full.

The decision to continue with the Copa América is hardly surprising, given that the Copa Libertadores —...