No more high altitude matches for Brazil's Flamengo

[Hortical]

No more high altitude matches for Flamengo



RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Brazil's Flamengo said on Thursday they would refuse to play again at high altitude, describing conditions in Wednesday's game away to Bolivia's Real Potosi as unsporting and inhumane.



The club added that allowing teams to play at high altitude was a form of doping.



Flamengo drew 2-2 in the Libertadores Cup Group Five match at nearly 4,000 metres above sea level in the mining town of Potosi, during which their players repeatedly went to the touchline to be given oxygen.



"Last night, Flamengo pulled off an heroic draw against Real Potosi in unsporting and inhumane conditions," said the club in a statement signed by president Marcio Braga, adding that the team's performance was epic.



"We want to make it public that we will officially inform the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation), the South American Football Confederation and FIFA that we will not take part in matches at an altitude above the limits recommended by sports medicine.



"A football pitch at an altitude not recommended by health specialists does not offer equal conditions to both teams and this damages the sporting principle of fair play.



"It degrades the human condition and puts the life of the athletes at risk. Failure to ban games in these conditions is the same as condoning doping."



Flamengo did not mention any maximum altitude which they believed to be fair.



Potosi's Mario Mercado stadium is one of the world's highest professional soccer venues. They host Parana of Brazil and UA Maracaibo at the same venue later in the group.



The city's lack of a commercial airport adds to the difficulties with visiting teams having to fly to Sucre and then face a 170-km trip over mountain roads.



Bolivia regularly host their World Cup qualifiers in La Paz at 3,600 metres and La Paz-based clubs Bolivar and The Strongest take part regularly in the Libertadores.



Among the 32 teams in the Libertadores Cup group stage, Peru's Cienciano also play their home matches above 3,000 metres.

[Karl]

RE: No more high altitude matches for Brazil's Flamengo

...and, playing in Mexico City

'You can never underestimate the difficulty playing in the heat and the altitude in <SPAN class=spnSearchHighlight id=hilite>Mexico</SPAN> City,' Arena said. 'The Mexican team has been there throughout the whole tournament and they are completely acclimatized. There is a reason they have hardly ever lost at home (one international loss in the last 30 years at Azteca). They have good teams, but not that good.

Interview with Bruce Arena, US Coach - July 2003

Taken from the archives - RBSC Old Forum

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<SPAN class=spnSearchHighlight id=hilite>Mexico</SPAN> City's air pollution problems are aggravated by natural conditions . During the cold days winter, thermal inversions often occur because pockets of cold, ozone and lead-laden air are pushed ground-ward as the sun heats the valley floor at day-break. This effect intensifies air pollution problems by displacing cleaner air with air heavier with contaminants. <SPAN class=spnSearchHighlight id=hilite>Mexico</SPAN> City's altitude is also part of the problem, as people have to breathe in more air to get the same amount of oxygen, which means they inhale more contaminants at the same time.



--- and,



...<SPAN class=spnSearchHighlight id=hilite>Mexico</SPAN> City is at altitude (7,400 feet above sea-level)



...finally -----&gt; ------&gt;<SPAN class=spnSearchHighlight id=hilite>Mexico</SPAN> City has possibly the worst problem with vehicle emissions because all or at least most of the vehicle run on leaded fuels. Because these vehicles run primarily on leaded gasoline, pollution control devices such as catalytic converters can not be used. "There are some 2.5 million motor vehicles -- buses, minibuses, taxis, trucks, vans, and private cars -- are responsible for 44% of the total energy consumption in the city. Motor vehicles are by far the main source, as they burn 40 thousand barrels of diesel fuel and 1 million barrels of leaded gasoline each day - (<SPAN class=spnSearchHighlight id=hilite>Mexico</SPAN> City: A Topographical Error 25)." These vehicles "discharge an estimated 80 percent of the 5 million tons of air pollutants that enter the city's skies each year.

The beginning of the problem with vehicle emissions is two fold. First, the cars run on a very rich air-fuel mixture of 8:1. This is necessary to produce adequate power at <SPAN class=spnSearchHighlight id=hilite>Mexico</SPAN> City's altitude of 2400 meters. Since the air-fuel ration is so rich , much of the fuel ends up in imperfect combustion. This imperfect combustion is what causes so much of the hydrocarbon pollution in <SPAN class=spnSearchHighlight id=hilite>Mexico</SPAN> City. The best ratio for cutting emissions would be an air:fuel of 19:1, but most gasoline engines are calibrated for optimum power at 12:1



[i]The topography of <SPAN class=spnSearchHighlight id=hilite>Mexico</SPAN> City is as much of the problem as the emissions themselves. <SPAN class=spnSearchHighlight id=hilite>Mexico</SPAN> City sits in a basin between two mountain ranges. Because the city is in a valley, there is little wind to move air and pollutants around so that they may disperse. The basin is the perfect topography to develop temperature inversions. A temperature inversion occurs when warm, light air rests on top of the cooler, denser air. This situation is