Under the title "50,000 COVID-19 Vaccines: Messi's Jerseys in the Heart of a Controversial Campaign," Sky News Arabia published an article translated from the British newspaper "The Guardian," stating that the Argentine football legend Lionel Messi helped secure 50,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from China for an ambitious yet controversial plan to vaccinate all football players in South America ahead of the Copa America tournament. The deal with the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac was secured after Messi donated three jerseys signed by him.
The Chinese vaccines are set to be used to vaccinate football players in South America before the Copa America tournament, which will take place from June 13 to July 10 in Argentina and Colombia. Gonzalo Belloso, an official with the South American Football Confederation, wrote on his Twitter account: "Sinovac's directors expressed their admiration for player Lionel Messi, who sent 3 jerseys for them."
The "Guardian" reported that the conservative president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, mediated to finalize this deal between the Chinese company and the South American football confederation. In comparison with the population, Uruguay has the highest number of daily COVID-19 cases in the world, with 1,084 per million people, compared to 215 per million in the United States and 25 per million in the United Kingdom.
However, some criticized this move, as Yamando Orsi, the mayor of Canelones in Uruguay, said: "Just as the president showed cooperation with the South American Football Confederation to vaccinate players in Copa America, he could also have considered the residents of Canelones." Only 12.4 percent of the inhabitants of this city have been vaccinated so far.
Some of the vaccines will be allocated to 26 teams in the Argentine Primera Division, and Belloso stated: "The idea is to vaccinate all first division teams in Argentina. We want to vaccinate all football players before the Copa America because any of them can be called up to play." However, the Argentine government, which is currently considering implementing a complete lockdown, will first need to approve the Chinese Sinovac vaccine to vaccinate Argentine players amid a vaccine shortage in the country. South American football confederation officials said they are negotiating with Argentina for an exemption for football players.
