Daily Times

In the wake of Chapecoese plane crash, Athletico Nacional has decided to request CONMEBOL – the South American football federation – to award Copa Sudamericana title to the Brazilian club, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday.

The Chapecoense team was on its way to Medellin, Colombia to feature in their maiden Copa Sudamericana final on Wednesday before an electrical failure caused their plane to crash, killing 71 out of the 77 passengers on board.

Fans mourn the untimely demise

The Brazilian club’s fans, who were expecting to be cheering their beloved Chapecoense football team in its hour of glory, gathered at home stadium to mourn the untimely demise of players.

They donned the club’s green and white shirt and tried to absorb the sudden absence of a team that had been about to crown its dream season with a shot at the Copa Sudamericana title.

“Chapeco is not a big city. We would meet (the players) in the street, anywhere. It’s hard to keep going. It was already hard yesterday. The city is devastated,” said teacher Aline Fonseca, 21.

“We’re not putting on loud music, not listening to anything,” Fonseca said. The first bodies are not expected to be flown back from Colombia, where they are being identified, until later this week.

Athletico Nacional’s official statement

In an official statement, the Colombian football club confirmed it had asked CONMEBOL to hand the title to Chapeconense, “Pain overwhelms our hearts and invades our thinking in mourning. It has been unfortunate hours in which we have been dismayed by news that we never wanted to hear.

“The accident of our football brothers, Chapecoense, will mark us for life and will leave an indelible mark on Latin-American and world football. All this has been completely unexpected, that’s why the pain. They were all footballers, technical staff, journalists and crew, people with many dreams, that’s why the tears.

“After being very worried about the human part we thought about the competitive aspect and we want to publish this statement in which Atletico Nacional ask Conmebol to give the title of Copa Sudamericana be given to the Chapecoense as an honorary award for this great loss, and in posthumous homage to the victims of the fatal accident that impute our sport. For our part, and forever, Chapecoense are champions of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana.”