Mario Salvador Camposeco López (6 August 1921 – 17 June 1951) Source: was a

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Born in

Quetzaltenango Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is both the seat of the namesake Department and municipality, in Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It may ...

, he started his football career in 1938 playing for the local team ''América''. He then joined club Xelajú becoming its

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and helping the team become champion of the Quetzaltenango department for 10 consecutive seasons (1940–1950). In 1942 he was called as a reinforcement for

CSD Municipal Club Social y Deportivo Municipal, also known as Municipal or ''Los Rojos'' (the Reds), is a Guatemalan football club based in Guatemala City. They compete in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football, and play their home matches a ...

by coach Manuel Felipe Carrera to play against

Atlante F.C. Atlante Fútbol Club, is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. Founded in 1916, Atlante were original members of the Mexican Primera División when it began in 1943. Atlante has won three national league championships, t ...

of Mexico, and in 1943 he was first

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

with the Guatemala national team. On 10 March 1946, during the III Central American Football Championship, he scored against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

in a 4–1 win in San José. In 1948 he was part of a Municipal squad that won a friendly tournament in commemoration of the Cuban Independence in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

.La Habana, Cuba 1948
He later participated in the VI Central American and Caribbean Games in 1950. At the time he became the second best scorer ever for Guatemala behind his national teammate Carlos Toledo, with 23 goals, what remains the 4th highest total of all time. Source: In June 1951, after a friendly match in Quetzaltenango, he was invited by a friend to go aboard an

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

and fly over the city; there was a mechanic failure and the plane crashed, killing both the pilot and Camposeco. Following the death of the footballer, Quetzaltenango club Xelajú changed its name to "Xelajú M.C." in his honor. The team's stadium was also renamed to

Estadio Mario Camposeco The Estadio Mario Camposeco is a football stadium located in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. It is the home of one of the most traditional clubs in Guatemala, Xelajú MC (''Los Chivos''). It has a capacity of 11,220. Location The Mario Camposeco ...

after him.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Camposeco, Mario 1921 births People from Quetzaltenango Xelajú MC players Guatemalan footballers Guatemala international footballers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Guatemala 1951 deaths Association football forwards C.S.D. Municipal players