the El Salvador championship stopped after the deadly stampede

The Salvadoran Football Federation (Fesfut) and the clubs decided on Wednesday to stop the closing tournament of the national championship, after the stampede which killed 12 people on Saturday in a stadium.

“We have decided to declare the El Salvador National Championship 2022-2023 over.“, they said in a joint statement. “This measure was taken in view of the seriousness of the facts and the need to guarantee the safety conditions of the sports facilities.“, they added.

A sanction of one year of matches behind closed doors

“There will be no tournament champion“, specified the Fesfut. As a result, the federation will propose that the 2022 champion and vice-champion, namely FAS and Jocoro, as well as the Aguila club, the highest ranked in the 2023 championship, represent El Salvador at the next Concacaf tournament. .

At least 12 people died and 500 were injured in a stampede at San Salvador’s 35,000-capacity Cuscatlan stadium on Saturday at the start of a first division game between local side Alianza and the FAS CD.

The Alianza club were held responsible for the accident and received a one-year sanction of matches behind closed doors by Fesfut. According to the authorities, a possible sale of counterfeit tickets or a sale of excess tickets could be at the origin of the tragedy, many people having tried to force their way into the already saturated stadium.