The Copa America schedule could be altered if the ash cloud from Chile's volcano keeps grounding flights in the region, Argentine Football Association President Julio Grondona said Tuesday.
The tournament is due to open on July 1 in La Plata, Argentina, with the host facing Bolivia. The event ends with the final July 24 in Buenos Aires.
Flights were grounded Tuesday in Argentina and neighboring Uruguay. CONMEBOL, the governing body of South American football, said Monday it would consider having teams fly to Asuncion, Paraguay, and then travel by land to venues in Argentina.
''We're watching it closely and it's for sure that teams are not ready to come to Buenos Aires,'' Grondona said, speaking Tuesday on Radio 10. ''The tournament starts July 1 and we hope that within five or six days the problems with the ash will not exist.''
Twelve teams are entered in the tournament - 10 from South America plus Mexico and Costa Rica, which play as guest nations.
The drifting plume of ash also briefly threatened Wednesday's first leg of the Copa Libertadores final in Montevideo, Uruguay, between Brazil club Santos and Uruguay's Penarol. After a brief delay Tuesday, a charter carrying Santos managed to land in Montevideo.
The second leg is June 22 in Sao Paulo.
CONMEBOL postponed the draw for the Copa Sudamericana - the continent's No. 2 club tournament - from Tuesday until Thursday. It said some club representatives were having trouble reaching Paraguay.
