SAN JOSE, Costa Rica Costa Rica will take the place of Canada in the Copa America after Canada pulled out because it did not have time to prepare for the hastily rearranged competition, officials said Friday.

Ricardo Quiros, spokesman for Costa Rica's Football Federation (FEDEFUT), said it was invited to take Canada's place at the competition which starts next Wednesday in Colombia, and had decided to go.

"FEDEFUT accepted the invitation and we are already organizing the team that will take part," Quiros said.

"We are already in talks with the clubs and we believe they are ready to release us the players for such an important tournament, and also with those that play with teams abroad."

Costa Rica's Brazilian team Coach Alexandre Guimaraes is currently on vacation in Spain but will return immediately to pick a team and organize the trip to Colombia, Quiros said.

Costa Rica is scheduled to play in Group C of the Copa America along with Argentina, Bolivia and Uruguay.

Argentina had pulled out but said on Friday it would make a final decision on whether to join the competition next Tuesday, one day before it begins.

Copa America organizers last week dropped Colombia as host of the competition because its civil war created too many security concerns. But they reversed themselves on Thursday, saying the competition would begin as initially planned on July 11 in Colombia, Reuters reported.

Canada said on Friday it simply didn't have enough time to pull its team together in time, leaving a space now offered to Costa Rica.

Costa Rica has had a run of good form and leads its World Cup qualifying group ahead of the United States, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago. Its only World Cup appearance to date was in 1990.