450 seats, U. Católica's offer to Boca sparked Conmebol complaint | OneFootball

The brand-new Claro Arena, home of UC, does not have the space required by Conmebol to host visiting fans. Boca, which will make its Libertadores debut there, filed a complaint.

After two years without taking part in the top international competition, Boca returns to the Copa Libertadores in this 2026 edition. Its last match in this tournament was that final against Fluminense at the Maracanã, where it lost 2-1 in extra time. Now, its return will be in Chile, away against Universidad Católica.

The team from the Chilean capital will have a showcase venue for the occasion, since its stadium was reopened in August 2025 with sponsorship from the company Claro. As a result, the old San Carlos de Apoquindo Stadium has now been renamed Claro Arena.

With a capacity of just over 20,000 spectators, the brand-new stadium in the capital was built to current Chilean football standards, which allow limited or no away fans in the stands. In fact, Claro Arena has a minimum capacity for 450 people in the role of visiting supporters at a football match.

According to Conmebol regulations, the minimum capacity a host must offer is 2,000 away spectators. At first, Los Cruzados did not want to allow away fans, but Boca filed a complaint with the South American governing body to enforce what is set out in the regulations. The space offered in Chile to the club from La Ribera was the aforementioned one: 450 seats for its trip to Santiago.

Claro Arena’s design issues prevent a larger capacity in the away section, and that is the area Universidad Católica approved for the Xeneize supporters. For now, Boca has yet to respond on whether it accepts that allocation or not, which is less than a quarter of the minimum established by Conmebol.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.