“The undersigned Human Rights Organizations are addressing the organizing authorities of the Qatar 2022 Soccer World Cup in order to request them to shift the date set for the qualifiers between Venezuela and Argentina on March 24,” the statement begins with the that the Human Rights organizations ask FIFA to change the day for the match between Venezuela and Argentina, for the South American Qualifiers, scheduled for next March 24.
“As it is public knowledge in our country, March 24 has a particularly important symbology, it is the National Day of Memory, in which the start of the disastrous coup d’état that inaugurates the civic-military dictatorship is remembered, since the 24 from March 1976 until the recovery of democracy on December 10, 1983”, add the organizations and explain that this day is also “a day of broad popular and social mobilization, where, led by the Human Rights Organizations, the Argentine population pays homage in Plaza de Mayo and in all the country’s squares, to the 30,000 detained and disappeared victims of State Terrorism, to the thousands of prisoners, to those exiled for political reasons”.
The request, signed by Mothers of Plaza de Mayo Founding Line; Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo; Relatives of the disappeared and detained for political reasons; Relatives and Companions of the 12 of the Holy Cross; Permanent Assembly for Human Rights; Memory Truth and Justice North Zone Commission; Argentine Historical and Social Memory Foundation; The Center for Legal and Social Studies, among others, adds that on Remembrance Day “it is repudiated and claimed for the appropriation of children born in captivity, whom the Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo continue to search for lovingly and tenaciously, with the support of the whole society.
The AFA statement
The Argentine Football Association (AFA), echoed this Thursday the request of the Human Rights Organizations and made a formal request to the FIFA and Conmebol authorities so that the match between Lionel Scaloni’s team and Venezuela, for the date 17 of the Qualifiers, does not take place as planned on March 24, but is rescheduled for the following day.
In a note addressed to the South American Confederation and FIFA, the AFA requested the postponement for one day so that the meeting does not overlap with Memory Day, one of Argentina’s permanent holidays.
“The Argentine Football Association informs that it has submitted a formal request to the Conmebol Competitions Directorate and to FIFA so that the match corresponding to the 17th date of the South American Qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, to be played against its similar in Venezuela, will be scheduled on Friday, March 25 at 8:30 p.m. with a stadium to be confirmed,” says the official statement from the AFA, also disseminated through social networks.
Some human rights organizations asked the Executive Committee of the AFA, with a copy to the Ministry of Sports and Tourism of the Nation, to review the “wrong” decision to play on March 24.
“The anniversary of the Military Coup that began the most atrocious dictatorship that we have suffered in our history is not only one of the most heartfelt dates on the national calendar, but also the one with the greatest popular mobilization, both in the Plaza de Mayo and in the squares of all the country,” they explained.
Scaloni’s team is already qualified for the 2022 Qatar World Cup along with Brazil (leader of the South American classification), while Venezuela is the tenth and last team in the standings and no longer has a chance.