The Colombian exporter René Higuita proposed that the America Cup bears the name of Diego Armando Maradona as a tribute to the soccer star, who died on November 25 of last year in Buenos Aires.
“We are ready to receive the best South American teams. The Copa América that Colombia and Argentina are going to do is approaching, how rich. This (should be a) tribute to Diego Armando Maradona, Copa América Diego Armando Maradona,” Higuita said on social networks .
The Copa América, which was to be played in 2020 in Argentina and Colombia, was postponed to this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and will take place in both countries from June 13 to July 10.
Higuita was a friend of Maradona and several times expressed his admiration as a player and as a person.
Maradona, who died when he was 60 years old, was friends with former Colombian footballers such as “Pibe” Valderrama, Mauricio Serna and Faustino Asprilla, among others.
The Argentine star also had a taste for Colombian music and was in the country in friendly matches and was a patient of doctors who treated him for his overweight and knee injuries.
Regarding the Copa América, the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, said last Thursday that he is concerned that the matches of that tournament and the Copa Libertadores could increase the cases of coronavirus and considered that sports federations should be extremely careful.
“I do not want to frustrate the spectacle of the Copa América, what I want is for us to be very sensible, very careful. We have some time ahead to see how things evolve and to see how we can master this problem,” said President Fernández.