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Bolivia moves World Cup qualifier to even higher altitude, hoping to boost play

Bolivia has always been a difficult place to play and the challenge has just got even higher. Literally.

Villegas hopes to exploit the higher altitude by picking a squad in which 80% of the players are used to the thinner air, including six from Always Ready club in El Alto, and six more from Bolívar in La Paz. The president of the Bolivian Football Federation, Fernando Costa, says the stadium is being trialed to see how the players respond, to determine if El Alto can become a permanent venue for home games. In a preliminary squad of 47 players, Venezuela coach Fernando Batista included some who are active in cities where the game is played at altitude, among them goalkeeper Alain Baroja from Bolivian club Always Ready.

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