Jack Grealish of Aston Villa has expressed his thoughts to the victims of the Brazilian football team’s plane tragedy.
He wrote on his Twitter account: “Such horrible news, my thoughts and prayers are with you.”
At least 25 passengers and crew were reportedly murdered when a plane carrying Chapecoense players and
personnel to Medellin airport in Colombia crashed in mid-flight.
According to the country’s civil aviation board, the chartered flight carried 72 passengers and nine crew members.
The death toll may have been higher if the pilot hadn’t discharged fuel seconds after the crash to prevent a major
explosion, according to the Mirror.
Chape has experienced a spectacular ascent in recent years, having previously been considered a tiny club in Brazil
since their founding in 1973.
Associação Chapecoense de Futebol was created in 1973 with the amalgamation of Atletico Chapecoense and
Independente.
Chapecoense, based in the city of Chapeco, in the southern state of Santa Catarina, with slightly over 200,000
residents, returned to Brazil’s first division in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s.
The club won its first title in 1977, defeating local rivals Avai.
The following year, they competed in the Brazilian championship for the first time, but were demoted from the top
level in 1979, returning only in 2014.
They also won the Copa Santa Catarina in 2006 and have four other minor titles in the state, but the team has made
significant progress over the last seven years.
