Colombia President Ivan Duque has announced on Thursday that his country will host the final match of the 2020 Copa America final.

The Latin American nation will jointly host the most prestigious football event of the continent with Argentina. Two countries never hosted the century-old event in the past, and the 2020 edition will see a co-hosting of the marquee event for the first time in its history.

Duque told the media during a public appearance, "The 2020 Copa America final will take place in Colombia, which has been one of the greatest desires of all of us." He mentioned that it was South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) president Alejandro Dominguez who had informed him of the decision.

The grand South American football fiesta has also been scheduled in an even year as the regional governing body CONMEBOL has decided to align the Copa America with the European Championships, to be played every four years and two years apart from the World Cup. Traditionally, the tournament has mostly been played in odd years.

The two countries at opposite ends of the Latin American continent were awarded the hosting rights in April and the CONMEBOL has introduced a new format by dividing the group stages into two regions: Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru playing in the northern zone while Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, and Paraguay will face off in the southern zone. The quarterfinals will be played by having the top four teams from each zone.

The two guest teams – debutantes Australia and Asian champions Qatar – will later be assigned to a zone.