Colombian football team, Atletico Nacional call for Chapecoense to be awarded Copa Sudamericana title

Colombian football team, Atletico Nacional has requested that Brazilian team, Chapecoense be handed the Copa Sudamericana trophy following the tragedy that befell the team where most of the Brazilian club's squad and staff were killed in a plane crash.

Chapecoense were traveling to Medellin, Colombian on Monday night to face Nacional in the first leg of the final of the Copa Sudamericana, when their plane crashed in Cerro Gordo in the municipality of La Union due to electrical fault.


75 people on board the plane including crew members, were killed, with only six people - including three Chapecoense players, Alan Ruschel, Jackson Follmann and Neto - named by the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority as only survivors.

"The pain overwhelms our hearts and invades our thinking in mourning," a club statement reads. "These have been unfortunate hours in which we have been dismayed by news that we never wanted to hear.

"The accident of our football brothers of 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 [is so great].

"They were all - footballers, technical staff, journalists and crew - people with many dreams, and that's why we cry.

"The worldwide lament has also been extended to the entire Verdolaga family, who from their sponsors, their board of directors, their technical staff, their players, their administrators and their fan base, have manifested the sadness and dismay for the absurd tragedy.

"Solidarity did not wait and on our part, we join the suffering of all the brothers who left us and who, along with their families and ourselves, shared a great dream of being continental champions of the Copa Sudamericana.

"After being very worried about the human side, we also thought about the competitive aspect and we want to publish this statement in which Atletico Nacional invites CONMEBOL to award the title of the Copa Sudamericana to the Association Chapecoense de Futebol in honour of their great loss and in posthumous homage to the victims of the fatal accident that our sport now mourns.

"For our part, and forever, Chapecoense: Champions of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana."

Conmebol suspended "all activities" following the incident.