Nacional vow to honour crash victims in Japan

Head coach Reinaldo Rueda (R) of Colombian football club Atletico Nacional answers queations upon their arrival at Kansai Airport in Izumisano, Osaka prefecture, to play in the Club World Cup football tournament on December 10, 2016. - AFP

Osaka, Japan (AFP) - Colombia’s Atletico Nacional arrived in Japan on Saturday to contest the Club World Cup, carrying the hopes of a continent still mourning after last month’s Chapecoense air disaster.

Nacional’s incidental part in the tragedy -- the Brazilian team were en route to play them when their plane crashed, killing 71 people, including all but three Chape players -- has thrust them into the public eye.