Bolivia’s men’s national football team is taking a gamble in their quest for a place in the 2026 World Cup. They are hoping that playing their home matches at an unprecedented altitude will give them a boost in the South American standings. The team traditionally plays in La Paz, the capital, at 3,640 meters (11,940 feet) above sea level. However, they have been granted permission by CONMEBOL, the South American football governing body, to move their games to El Alto, the country’s second-largest city, sitting at a staggering 4,150 meters (13,615 feet) above sea level. This altitude is equivalent to stacking nine Empire State Buildings on top of each other.
Bolivia’s current position in the standings is precarious, with one win and five losses, placing them second to last. They desperately need a victory in their upcoming match against Venezuela, who are currently in fifth place and fresh off a quarterfinal run at the Copa America.
This high-stakes match will also mark the debut of Bolivia’s new coach, Oscar Villegas, who has replaced Antonio Carlos Zago following a winless Copa America campaign. Villegas is determined to capitalize on the thin air at El Alto by selecting a squad where 80% of the players are accustomed to playing at high altitudes. This includes six players from Always Ready club in El Alto and six more from Bolivar in La Paz.
“Football is made of details. It does not mean that with this (changing stadiums) we are going to win,” Villegas stated, acknowledging that the change in venue is not a guaranteed win. However, he believes that playing at El Alto will offer a strategic advantage: “We are trying to take care of details that can allow us to be more effective. In El Alto, we are going to try to be as intense as possible and to let them know that they are on a new pitch where we have been unbeatable,” he said, referring to the success of local teams in El Alto in tournaments like Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana. “The psychological and emotional aspect also plays a role, it is something that is going to help us a lot.”
El Alto Municipal Stadium, opened in 2017, is a modern venue in the Bolivian highlands, boasting a green pitch with the phrase, “You play where you live,” inscribed in white. It has a capacity of 24,000 spectators, smaller than the 40,000-seat Hernando Siles Stadium in La Paz, but its 560-meter (1,840 feet) higher altitude makes it a unique playing field. The Bolivian Football Federation president, Fernando Costa, is using this match as a trial to see how players adapt to the venue and to assess if El Alto could become a permanent home for Bolivia’s national team.
While Venezuela, who normally plays at sea level, has not officially protested the change in venue, they are taking steps to mitigate the effects of the high altitude. Their coach, Fernando Batista, has included players experienced with playing at high altitudes in their preliminary squad of 47. This includes goalkeeper Alain Baroja, who currently plays for Bolivian club Always Ready. The Venezuelan team is also undergoing oxygen breathing exercises and acclimatization in hyperbaric chambers.
However, the decision to play first-class football at such high altitudes has drawn criticism from some quarters. Tite, the coach of Brazilian club Flamengo, remarked that playing at altitude is “difficult” after his team lost to Bolivar 1-0 in La Paz during the Copa Libertadores last 16. FIFA previously ruled in 2007 that international games could not be played above 2,750 meters due to concerns about the effects of high altitude. But the following year, following objections from Bolivia, they reversed this decision as most stadiums in Bolivia are situated above this threshold.
Despite the approval of CONMEBOL, Edmundo Vargas, the municipal sports director of El Alto, acknowledged that there is limited research on the effects of playing football at altitudes exceeding 4,000 meters, “The field has been approved by CONMEBOL because it meets all the requirements they have requested.” Jesus Jimenez, a researcher at the Bolivian Institute of High-Altitude Biology, echoes this sentiment. “We always recommend that any athlete have a prior evaluation before coming to altitude and an adaptation period,” he stated. He also expresses skepticism about claims that the high altitude gives Bolivia an advantage, pointing out that “Bolivia has lost before on its home ground.”
The stakes are high for Bolivia as they haven’t qualified for the World Cup since 1994. This bold move to play at such an extreme altitude signifies their determination to improve their chances and create a unique home-field advantage. Whether this strategy will be successful or raise more questions about the feasibility of playing at such extreme altitudes remains to be seen.
