CONMEBOL, South American football’s governing body, has confirmed that the Copa Sudamericana title has been awarded to Chapecoense after most of the team died in a plane crash in Colombia last week.
The Brazilian club had been travelling to the city of Medellin for the first leg of the competition’s final against Atlético Nacional when their plane crashed on a mountainside. 71 people lost their lives in the tragedy, with just six surviving the crash.
Having heard the news, Atlético Nacional asked that the title be awarded to Chape, a request that has now been granted by the South American football federation.
CONMEBOL otorga el tÃtulo de Campeón de la #CopaSudamericana 2016 a Chapecoense: https://t.co/UTgU9ksznz pic.twitter.com/reUCoRUXQu
— CONMEBOL.com (@CONMEBOL) December 5, 2016
As pointed out by Tim Vickery, as Sudamericana champions, Chapecoense will face home and away games against Copa Libertadores champions – Atlético Nacional.
As Sudamericana champions, next year Chapecoense will play home and away against the Libertadores champs – Atletico Nacional
— Tim Vickery (@Tim_Vickery) December 5, 2016
With 19 of their players amongst the victims of last week’s crash, several Brazilian clubs have offered to loan players to Chapecoense to help the club rebuild after the tragedy. Reports have also added that there have been requests from other top flight clubs to make Chape exempt from relegation for the next three years, too.
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