Dispute over Villa Ingenio stadium in El Alto

Professional football clubs Always Ready and ABB have announced they will cease playing home matches at the Villa Ingenio Municipal Stadium in El Alto due to deteriorating pitch conditions and management disputes.

Club officials, including ABB technical director Walter Flores and Always Ready president Andrés Costa, cited the misuse of the field for non-sporting events, such as dance festivals and parties, as a primary cause for the field's decline. Always Ready has moved its home matches to the Hernando Siles Stadium in La Paz and stated it will not return to El Alto until it possesses its own stadium.

In response to allegations of extortion and mismanagement, the El Alto Mayor’s Office has denied claims of improper stadium use. Local authorities asserted that no concerts or parades have taken place at the facility and claimed that social media images depicting beer crates at the venue were ‘99.9% likely to be AI-generated content.’

Despite the ongoing disputes with local clubs, El Alto Mayor Eliser Roca has confirmed that the Bolivian national football team will continue to use the Villa Ingenio Municipal Stadium for upcoming South American World Cup qualifiers. To prepare the venue for international competition, the municipal government announced plans to install stadium seating, an improvement not included in previous budgets. Always Ready president Andrés Costa expressed support for this decision, noting the stadium will serve both international national team matches and professional club football.