Monumental gets green light for Copa final

The Copa América final will finally take place at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires City despite damage caused by rioting River Plate fans following their team's recent relegation, organizers said.

"It's going to be tight but we'll get there," tournament organising committee president José Luis Meiszner said after an inspection of the giant stadium by South American Football Confederation officials.

The final, the only match of the 12-nation tournament to be played in the capital, is scheduled for July 24 at the 62,000-capacity Monumental that doubles as the national stadium.

Workers are racing against the clock to repair the damage after River hooligans rioted after the team's 3-1 aggregate defeat 10 days ago in a playoff with Belgrano, who were promoted from the Nacional B division.

"We were worried about it (but) the mere possibility of having to think about a change (of venue) would have been pathetic," Meiszner told reporters.

The damage includes 4,000 seats ripped out of their fixtures in the stands, many thrown onto the pitch, along with broken glass barriers and windows.