Soccer Community Reacts to Chapecoense Tragedy

Federico Marin, Staff Writer

chape-1The global soccer community has been showing support for the Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense, after most of its members were killed in a horrific plane crash on Tuesday night.

The plane that was transporting the team to play in the final of the Copa Sudamericana, the equivalent of the Europa League, came down near the mountains of Medellin, Colombia. This left 71 people dead and 6 survivors. One of the survivors however, Marcos Danilo Padilha, died after making a phone call to his wife from a hospital bed in Medellin.

There are only nine players from the squad that did not travel with the rest of the team. The other Brazilian teams in the league have requested that Chapecoense not be relegated for three seasons and they said they would loan players for free in order to help the club rebuild.

Chapecoense were due to play Atletico Nacional in the final. Nacional has requested that the Conmebol (South American Football Confederation) give the title of the cup to Chapecoense. “Atletico Nacional have invited Conmebol to deliver the Copa Sudamericana title to the Chapecoense Football Association as an honour for their great loss and in posthumous homage to the victims of the tragic accident that has our sport in mourning. For us, and forever, Chapecoense shall be the Copa Sudamericana champions for 2016,” said Atletico Nacional in an official statement.

This event was a tragedy that rarely occurs; it shows how much passion soccer fans have for the sport and how they all come together and support in a time of need.