They came to the Mateo Flores in Guatemala City for a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica, far more of them than the terrace could hold, because far more tickets had been sold than there were places to stand. The crush happened at a gate before kickoff. Eighty-four people died and around a hundred and eighty were hurt, and the match in 1996 was never played. They went to watch a football game.
Families still come back to the stadium each October with flowers and candles, and they read the names out. Eighty-four of them. Most had been standing in line since the afternoon.
The inquiry afterwards found tickets sold well past any count of the terrace, and the ground was closed for a long stretch while the rules on ticketing and capacity were rewritten. Costa Rica's players were already on the pitch when it became clear there would be no match.