Yopal will host Deportivo Pereira against Once Caldas on Friday, April 10, bringing the Eje Cafetero classic to the Estadio Santiago de las Atalayas in a match that has already reshaped the conversation around where the game can be played. The fixture will be part of Liga BetPlay 2026 and arrives after Yopal was first used as an alternate solution for Deportivo Pereira to play its home matches.
For the city, the match is more than a one-night relocation. Indercas carried out adaptations to the stadium so it could meet the standards required by Dimayor, with improvements made to the locker rooms, the playing field, the stands and operational logistics. The city also has a permanent-operating airport that supports team logistics and match broadcasting, along with hotel infrastructure considered adequate to receive high-standard delegations.
The weight of the occasion is clear in the visitor's lineup. Dayro Moreno will arrive with Once Caldas as its main attacking reference and current top scorer, giving the classic a familiar edge even as it is staged far from its usual setting. For Deportivo Pereira, the game keeps its home role in Yopal at the center of a broader experiment that began as an alternate solution and is now being watched as something closer to a viable address for professional football.
That shift has been helped by the response inside the city. Yopal is being presented as a possible permanent site for professional football, with the source describing the crowd response as progressive and the interest in the spectacle as evident. The match against Once Caldas, long part of the rivalry that defines the Eje Cafetero classic, now carries the added weight of being played in the Llanos territory, where the stadium upgrades and the local reception are being tested together.
What happens on Friday will matter beyond the result. If the venue again delivers a workable setting for a high-profile match, Yopal's case for remaining in the conversation as a regular home for professional football will only grow stronger.
