Chapecoense awarded Copa Sudamericana title one week after devastating plane crash
South American soccer's governing body awarded Brazilian club Chapecoense the Copa Sudamericana title one week after a tragic plane crash killed 19 members of the team while en route to play the tournament final.
In a statement released Monday, CONMEBOL called awarding the title to Chapacoense "a posthumous homage to the victims of the fatal crash that leaves our sport in mourning."
The decision was endorsed by Atletico Nacional, the Colombian side that Chapecoense was supposed to play for the Copa Sudamericana trophy.
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A charter jet carrying the Chapecoense team to Colombia for the first leg of the two-match final crashed into a hillside near Medellín last Monday night. The plane reportedly ran out of fuel.
Nineteen players were killed, and the final was canceled. The soccer world at large reacted with heartbreak as tributes poured in from all corners of the globe.
Last Wednesday, when Chapecoense and Atletico Nacional were supposed to be facing off in the first match of their two-leg Copa Sudamericana final, Fox Sports Brazil instead aired 90 minutes of silence.
With Monday's CONMEBOL announcement, Chapecoense is now set to receive the Copa Sudamericana's $2 million first prize. It also qualifies for next season's Copa Libertadores, the South America's top international competition for club teams (the Copa Sudamericana is the continent's second-tier international club tournament).
Chapecoense is expected to field a team next year made up of players loaned from other clubs as it continues to rebuild following last week's devastating crash.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.
