{"id":272969,"date":"2016-11-30T07:20:02","date_gmt":"2016-11-30T07:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=272969"},"modified":"2016-11-30T07:20:02","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T07:20:02","slug":"football-world-rallied-around-crash-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/11\/football-world-rallied-around-crash-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Football world rallied around crash club"},"content":{"rendered":"

The football world has rallied around a Brazilian club which lost most of its players in a plane crash in Colombia.<\/p>\n

Only six of the 77 people on the plane, carrying members of the Chapecoense team, survived Monday’s crash.<\/p>\n

The team were flying to what was billed as the biggest match in their history – the final of the Copa Sudamericana.<\/p>\n

Their opponents, Colombian team Atletico Nacional, have offered to concede the game to ensure Chapecoense are declared the champions.<\/p>\n

In a tweet, the club also asked that fans to turn up to their stadium at the time which the game was scheduled, dressed in white.<\/p>\n

In a joint statement, Brazilian first division football teams have offered to lend players to Chapecoense free of charge, and asked the league to protect the club from relegation for the next three years.<\/p>\n

Several leading footballers, from Barcelona stars Lionel Messi and Neymar, to Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, have also paid tribute to the players, who had become an unlikely success story in recent years.<\/p>\n

There were also 21 journalists on board. Both flight recorders have been recovered.<\/p>\n

What happened?<\/p>\n

The plane lost contact with ground controllers as it approached Medellin at about 22:15 on Monday (03:15 GMT on Tuesday), after the pilot reported an electrical fault. It came down in a mountainous area.<\/p>\n

The number of those on board was first said to be 81, but Colombia’s disaster management agency later said four people on the passenger list did not board the plane.<\/p>\n

Three of the six survivors are footballers:<\/p>\n