The Brazilian football team Chapecoense played for the first time on Saturday after 19 of its players and staff were killed in a plane crash in Columbia on Nov. 29, 2016. The team reportedly recruited 22 new players for the charity event that pitted Chapecoense against the Sociedade Esportiva Palmeira team.
The crash claimed the lives of 52 other plane passengers and crew.
The Brazilian football team were on their way to Medellin, Colombia to play for the final of the Copa Sudamericana when tragedy struck, according to Faith Wire. Only six members of the team survived.
Although they were not able to play in the final as a result of the disaster, Chapecoense were awarded the Copa Sudamericana trophy to honour those who died.
Around 20,000 flocked to the Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco, Brazil on Saturday to see the team play. Attendees were incredibly supportive as they donned the team's gear to show their unity with the surviving team members and the families of those who died.
Three of the survivors — defenders Helio Neto and Alan Ruschel and goalkeeper Jackson Follmann, who had to have his leg amputated because of the crash — took to the field that day, making the sold-out crowd incredibly emotional.
All three of them were honoured with the Copa Sudamericana trophy, and they all received medals as they stood beside the families of the victims. The men could not help but shed tears while receiving the medals, and the crowd were teary-eyed as well.
Follmann issued a heartfelt statement, saying, "We must respect God's will and move on with our lives now. We're certainly stronger, and learning to value the simple things after all that happened."
Meanwhile, radio reporter Rafael Hanzel, who is also one of the crash survivors, served as the commentator for the match.
Seventy-one minutes into the game, players from both teams stopped and clapped to honour the 71 people who lost their lives in the crash.
Hanzel announced that the symbolic act will now become a tradition in every Chapecoense game, according to BBC News.
The proceeds of the game will be used to rebuild the club and help the families of those who died.
