Teams from four of the five South American countries that began competing in the South American Club Championship emerged victorious. Only the two Uruguayan teams suffered defeats in the opening matches of the event, which is being held at the Sol de América club's sports complex in Asunción. This is the 45th edition of the championship, formerly organized by the South American Futsal Confederation, the oldest international organization for this sport.
Early in the day, Churros, the team from Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in the world, represented Chilean futsal with dignity and surprised Furia Cruceña, one of the teams from Bolivia, by 3 to 1.
In the second game, the team from the state of Paraná, Brazil, SAF Talismá, beat Palermo of Uruguay 6-1.
In the third match, Atenas, one of the Paraguayan hosts, had many difficulties overcoming the strong defense of San Miguel of Uruguay, which they were finally able to defeat 2-0, scoring the second goal in the dying moments of the match.
After the opening ceremonies, the Bolivian team Cotas Junior, heavily reinforced by players from Colombia and Paraguay, gave a true futsal recital, decisively beating the local 12 de Junio team 6-2.
OPENING CEREMONIES
Between matches 3 and 4 of the schedule, the traditional opening ceremonies took place. Dr. Jose Ortigoza, the Paraguayan leader of 12 de Junio, the main organizer, gave the opening statement after the national anthem and an artistic performance. He was followed by the president of the South American Futsal Federation, Mario Gimenez of Uruguay, and the president of the World Futsal Association, Dr. Rolando Alarcón Rios.
DATE 2
This Wednesday, July 29th, matchday 2 will be played with this order of matches:
2:00 PM: San Miguel (URU) – Furia Cruceña (BOL)
4:00 PM: Athens (PAR) – Churros (CHI)
6:00 PM: Cotas Juniors (BOL) – Palermo (URU)
8:00 PM: June 12 (PAR) – SAF Talisma (BRA)
