América de Cali loses Bogotá as alternate venue after El Campín incidents, moves match to Palmira

Four home games in Bogotá. That was the plan for América de Cali while Cali remained unfit to host fans following the earthquake that struck the city. But the plan fell apart within days, all because of what happened at El Campín.

On Saturday, August 23, América visited Independiente Santa Fe in the Liga BetPlay, and the match had to be stopped for several minutes. The reason: a clash between fans that spilled onto the field. Colombian soccer's own figures called the episode "shameful," and the authorities' response wasn't long in coming.

Bogotá's Football Commission turned down América's request to keep using the capital as an alternate venue. Dimayor confirmed as much in an official statement: "Due to the events that took place last Saturday, August 23, at El Campín stadium, which are public knowledge, Bogotá's Football Commission decided not to approve the matches requested by América de Cali to serve as the home club at that venue."

The immediate consequence? The matchup against Junior, scheduled for this Wednesday, August 26, will no longer be played in Bogotá. Before Dimayor issued its statement, Palmira's own mayor, Víctor Ramos, had already broken the news in an interview with La FM de Colombia.

The match between América and Junior will be played in Palmira, at Francisco Rivera Escobar stadium.Víctor Ramos

No visiting fans

The new venue comes with an extra condition: the match will be played without visiting fans, with only América de Cali supporters in the stands. It's a logical measure given what just happened in Bogotá and the desire to avoid a repeat of that scene.

Dimayor didn't stop there. In the same statement, Colombian soccer's governing body confirmed that Palmira will also host América Femenino's first match against Deportivo Cali, part of the competition's four-team final round. In other words, the city has suddenly become América's new soccer home, at least for now.

The details for the clash against Junior are set: Wednesday, August 26, at 6:20 p.m. (Colombia time), at Francisco Rivera Escobar stadium in Palmira. A last-minute change of plans forces América to regroup just as it was trying to settle into a home away from Cali.

It remains to be seen whether Palmira becomes a fixed venue while the situation in the Valle del Cauca capital gets sorted out, or whether this is just an emergency fix for this particular date. What's certain is that, for the team's fans, what matters most right now is that their club can play under normal conditions, regardless of the stadium's zip code.