World Cup champion Spain declines Copa America invite

AP, Wednesday 13 Apr 2011

A dense schedule of fixtures renders Spain unable to take Japan's place in the South American championship

Spain
Spain's players acknowledge the crowd after defeating Portugal 1-0 and qualifying for the quarterfinals, at the end of their 2010 World Cup round of 16 (Photo: AFP)

The Spanish football federation says on its website that a board of directors meeting decided against playing the July 1-24 tournament in Argentina due to “conflicts with the calendar.”

The federation says a dense schedule of fixtures makes the World Cup and European champion’s participation “impossible.”

The federation says it remains open to playing in the South American championship in the future.

Japan pulled out last week because of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the country on March 11.

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