Associação Chapecoense De Futebol

Associação Chapecoense de Futebol, commonly known as Chapecoense, is a Brazilian football club, based in the city of Chapecó in the state of Santa Catarina.

The club was founded in 1973 with the goal of restoring football in the city, and won the state championship, the Campeonato Catarinense, for the first time in 1977. The club has won six state titles to date, most recently in 2017. A relatively small club, it entered Brazil's top division, Série A, for the first time in 1978, returning to the top flight only in 2014. The club also has activities in futsal, in which it has been state champion twice. The club's home matches are played at Arena Condá.

On 28 November 2016, a charter flight carrying the first team crashed as it approached José María Córdova International Airport near Medellín, Colombia, where the team was travelling to play the first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana final against Atlético Nacional, a match that was seen as the biggest in the history of the club. All but six of the 77 passengers died; only three Chapecoense players survived their injuries. Following the crash, Atlético Nacional made a request to the governing body of the competition, CONMEBOL, that Chapecoense be awarded the trophy. CONMEBOL awarded Chapecoense the trophy on 5 December, and Atlético Nacional received the Centennial Fair Play Award for their gesture.

History

The club was founded as Associação Chapecoense de Futebol on 10 May 1973, after the merger of Atlético Chapecoense and Independente.

In 1977, Chapecoense won its first title, which was the Campeonato Catarinense, beating Avaí 1–0 in the final.

In 1978, the club competed for the first time in the Campeonato Brasileiro, finishing in the 51st position, and in following year, finished in the 93rd position.

In 2002, due to a partnership, Chapecoense was renamed to Associação Chapecoense Kindermann/ Mastervet. In 2006, the club went back to its original name, Associação Chapecoense de Futebol, and also won the Copa Santa Catarina. In 2007, the club won the state championship for the third time, and also competed in the Brazilian Championship Third Level, but was eliminated in the first stage of the competition. They won the Campeonato Catarinense again in 2011 and 2016.

Chapecoense competed in the Série A for the first time since 1979 in 2014, as the club was promoted after they and Bragantino drew 1–1, in Chapecó, for the 2013 Série B. Winning important points during its first season in the top flight, ''Chape'' cemented a place in the 2015 Série A, its second season in a row in the first division.

In 2016, Chapecoense made history when they reached the finals of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's secondary club football tournament, after defeating San Lorenzo de Almagro using the away goals rule. They were awarded the title following LaMia Flight 2933, a disastrous plane crash which killed the majority of their squad on the way to the final (see below)

As Copa Sudamericana champions, Chapecoense qualified for the 2017 Copa Libertadores, their first appearance in that tournament. With a squad built up from loan players, free signings and promoted youth players, as well as two survivors of the crash, they won their first match in an away game at Zulia of Venezuela.

On 27 November 2019, almost three years to the day from the devastating plane crash, the club suffered relegation from the Série A following a 0–1 loss to Botafogo.

On 12 January 2021, a year after being relegated, they were promoted back to the Série A following a 2-1 victory against state rivals Figueirense.

2016 plane crash

On the evening of 28 November 2016, LaMia Flight 2933, carrying 77 people, including the staff and players from the club, crashed as it approached Medellín, Colombia; 71 people died (including 21 journalists and almost the entire first team and managerial staff) and 6 survived, according to the BBC
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