Brazil, Colombia to play charity friendly for plane crash victims

Brazil and Colombia will meet in an international friendly in January to raise money for those affected by last week’s plane crash that devastated Brazil’s Chapecoense football club. 

The match will be played on January 22 or 25 with the venue yet to be decided, according to a Brazilian football confederation (CBF) spokesman, reports Xinhua. All proceeds from the fixture will be donated to families of those affected by the disaster. In addition, the CBF said it would donate five million reais (around 1.5 million US dollars) to the stricken club. 

Seventy-one people died when a chartered flight carrying the Chapecoense football side crashed just before its planned destination near Medellin. The victims included 19 Chapecoense players and all of the club’s coaching staff. CBF spokesman Douglas Lunardi said he was hoping the good will of European clubs would allow both Brazil and Colombia to field their strongest teams. 

Clubs will not be obliged to release their players given the fixture is not on an official FIFA date. Lunardi said a decision on whether to play the match at Chapecoense’s 22,000-seat Arena Conda or at a bigger stadium would be made within days.