Chapecoense: from air tragedy to glory

Chapecoense are back in Brazil’s top flight. The club from Santa Catarina secured promotion to the highest level of Brazilian soccer on the very same date which, nine years earlier and in the same stadium, had marked their first-ever qualification for the Copa Sudamericana final – a moment of joy that was followed by the tragedy that claimed almost the entire team.

In 2026 it will be ten years since the crash that devastated Brazilian and South American soccer, and above all Chapecoense. The club, created from two amateur teams, had brushed up against glory in 2016 after reaching the Sudamericana final. But on the way to Colombia, where one of the decisive games was to be played, the plane carrying the squad and club staff crashed, killing nearly everyone on board.

Only six people survived, including three players: Alan Ruschel, Jackson Follman and Neto. After that immense blow, the team managed to rebuild in the face of adversity. They had to start many things from scratch, yet from that year on they began a path that took them through spells in both Serie A and Serie B.

Their return to the Brasileirão carries a hint of the mystical. It happened on the same date – November 23 – on which they had defeated San Lorenzo in the Sudamericana semifinal. In an Arena Condá where many fans once again laughed and cried, the club reclaimed its place in Brazil’s elite after four years drifting through the country’s second tier.

The end of the Serie B season was tense, tight and nearly impossible to predict. A 1–0 win over Atlético Goianiense, sealed by a lone strike from Walter Clar, closed another chapter in club history. At home and in front of their supporters, who stormed the field to celebrate, Chapecó’s team finally returned to the top.

Maybe it was chance, or maybe there are inexplicable threads that tie one moment to another. What is certain is that Chapecoense will be back among Brazilian soccer’s best just as a decade passes since one of the sport’s greatest tragedies. For the Eternal Champion, 2026 will mean many things.

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