The Conmebol approved the soccer stadium of the Bolivian city of The tall onelocated 4,083 meters above sea level, where the local team Always ready will host Peruvian Sporting Cristal in the Copa Libertadores on February 20, the club and the city council announced on Thursday.
Officials from the South American confederation inspected this Monday the Villa Ingenio stadium, which was inaugurated in 2017 and has a capacity for 25,000 spectators, before being given the green light to host this second round match of the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League. “This is a historic day for the city of El Alto,” greeted the president of Always Ready, Andrés Costa, in a press conference at the stadium, the highest in Bolivia beyond Potosí (3,900 m).
Founded in 1933, the Always Ready club returned to the Bolivian first division in 2019 for the first time in 28 years, and participated for the fourth time in its history in the Copa Libertadores. In South America, there is occasional controversy over altitude battles. It pits the Andean nations of Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia, who pride themselves on their rugged topography, against the great soccer nations of South America, Brazil and Argentina, who consider themselves disadvantaged by a lack of oxygen compared to to the natives.
In 2007, FIFA banned international matches above 2,500 meters of altitude, in order to preserve the health of the players. Passionate about football, the then Bolivian president, Evo Morales, threatened to take the matter to the UN for “discrimination.”
The sports authorities of the Andean countries then asserted that it is more dangerous to play in the heat at sea level than at altitude, referring to the deaths of players on European fields, in particular. FIFA eventually reversed its decision in 2008.
The El Alto stadium, however, is not the tallest in South America. The title goes to the Daniel Alcides Carrión stadium, located at 4,378 meters above sea level in Cerro de Pasco, in central Peru.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
