Estadio Defensores del Chaco

Defensores del Chaco
Full name	Estadio de los Defensores del Chaco
Former names	Estadio de Puerto Sajonia
Location	Barrio Sajonia, Asunción
Opened	1917
Renovated	1939, 1996, 2007
Owner	Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol
Surface	Grass
Capacity	41,000 ^[1]
Tenants
Paraguay national football team

Estadio Defensores del Chaco is a multi-purpose stadium in Asunción, Paraguay. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium once had a 50,000+ capacity but over the years the stadium has undergone remodeling dropping the capacity to 41,000.

1 Overview
2 2009 Partial Collapse
3 Other events
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Overview

The stadium was opened in 1917 and its first name was "Estadio de Puerto Sajonia" because it was located in the Sajonia neighbourhood in Asunción. After Uruguay won the Olympic gold medal in football in 1924, the Paraguayan Football Association decided to rename the stadium "Uruguay" to honor the South American Nation. Later, the name was reverted back to Estadio Puerto Sajonia.

During the Chaco War, the stadium was used as a munitions depot and troop meeting arena. After the war, it was renamed with the current name "Defensores del Chaco" (Defenders of the Chaco) in honour of the triumphant soldiers that took part in the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia. It underwent renovations during 1939, 1996 and 2007.^[2]

The stadium is not owned by a team (it is a National stadium) and it is used primarily to host the home games of the Paraguay national football team and for international football club tournament games such as the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana. It also held important matches during the 1999 Copa América, including the final in which Brazil defeated Uruguay.

2009 Partial Collapse

On February 1, 2009, two anti-riot police officers were killed and five injured when they were struck by a cement block that was part of the stadium. The cement block fell from a height of seven meters. The football match taking place during the collapse was delayed 40 minutes.^[3]