Santa Fe and River Plate Await CONMEBOL Confirmation to Reschedule Match Suspended by Bogota Earthquake

An earthquake rewrote the Copa Sudamericana schedule. The first leg between Santa Fe and River Plate, set for Wednesday, August 12 at El Campin stadium in Bogota for the round of 16, was thrown into limbo just hours after western Colombia felt the tremor that forced the national government to declare a state of emergency.

CONMEBOL moved quickly to announce the temporary suspension of the match. At River, the first response was not about soccer but about people. President Stefano Di Carlo addressed reporters and delivered a message that put human concerns ahead of any scheduling debate.

First, we deeply regret the tragedy that occurred in Colombia. First and foremost, our thoughts go out to the human toll, and our deepest sympathies to those who have been victims of the earthquake, not only in Bogota, where the situation wasn't as severe, although it was serious there too, but across the whole territory and neighboring areas and countries. We sincerely regret it, and right now we're waiting for confirmation from CONMEBOL on what happens next. We still don't know.Stefano Di Carlo

That statement captures the moment well: nobody at River has any certainty yet about when the match will be played. What is clear is that, at least in the messaging, the priority lies elsewhere before anyone turns to thinking about the round of 16.

The View From Bogota

On the other side, at Santa Fe, the tone was different because the available information was different too. President Eduardo Mendez told the newspaper AS that, beyond the scare, Bogota did not suffer any serious structural damage, and that this should work in favor of keeping the original venue for the rescheduled match.

We don't have any information yet, let's wait for CONMEBOL. Through the FCF we let them know that, fortunately, there was no disaster in Bogota. We got scared and we felt the earthquake, but there was no physical or structural damage. The PMU stated that the stadium is fit to keep operating. Bogota's airports are still running normally, and we believe there won't be a change of venue. There are no grounds for that decision to be made.Eduardo Mendez

According to the Colombian official, the report from the Unified Command Post (PMU) was reassuring: El Campin stadium is in condition to host the match, and the capital's airports are operating normally. In other words, infrastructure would not be the problem.

Now the ball is in CONMEBOL's court, since it is the body that must confirm the new date for the first leg. River, meanwhile, remains on standby and is in no rush to make decisions about a fixture that is part of the Sudamericana's round of 16 bracket. The second leg, in principle, would depend on how the entire calendar gets reorganized once the match in Bogota is settled.

What remains uncertain, beyond the result on the field, is an unusual scene in South American soccer: two rival clubs facing off on the pitch, yet united by the same concern off it.