A plane crash killing 76 people, including most of the first-division Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense, deeply affected Orlando’s soccer community Tuesday morning.
The charter plane was carrying players to the biggest match in the club’s history – to play Colombian side Atlético Nacional in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final, which now has been suspended – when it crashed outside of Medellín. There are reportedly five survivors, including three players. Many journalists traveling with the team also were killed.
Orlando City is heavily connected with Brazilian soccer. Majority owner Flavio Augusto da Silva, CEO Alex Leitão, team captain Kaká and vice president of communications Diogo Kotscho all are natives of the country, among others.