River Plate's Monumental could miss out on 2020 Copa games

BUENOS AIRES, April 6 (Reuters) - Argentina is planning to use five stadiums to host matches in the 2020 Copa America, with River Plate’s Monumental a surprise exclusion, an Argentine FA source told Reuters on Thursday.

Argentina was announced as joint host nation last month, along with Colombia.

As part of the initial planning, the Argentine FA said in a brief statement it had begun preparing for the tournament and was considering which grounds to include.

It gave no further details other than to say the final decision would be taken by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).

However, an FA source told Reuters it was proposing five arenas. The stadiums of Boca Juniors and Racing would serve the capital Buenos Aires, along with grouns in Mendoza, Cordoba and Santiago del Estero.

The exclusion of the Monumental would be a controversial decision as the stadium is the biggest in Argentina and is where the host nation famously won the 1978 World Cup.
River Plate are one of Argentina's two biggest clubs.

The next edition of the Copa America -- which usually includes all 10 South American nations plus two invited guests -- is due to be held in Brazil in June this year.

CONMEBOL want to hold another Copa in 2020 and thereafter stage it every four years to bring it in line with its equivalent in Europe, the European Championship.