Estadio Federativo Reina del Cisne

The Estadio Federativo Reina del Cisne sits at the edge of Loja, where the city meets the mountains and the sun cuts a straight line across the sky.

It was not always a federation ground. It began as a municipal project, a patch of earth donated by the city council in the nineteen sixties. They laid concrete and dug drainage, building a bowl that would hold the local teams for decades. The name stuck, and the 'Federativo' part of the title simply means the regional sports body owns it now, not the mayor.

The shape of the stadium is defined by its track. It is an old feature, a reminder of when athletics and football shared the same space.

It has also seen trouble, when fans threw things during a match and the home game was moved. But mostly it is just a place for football, sitting under the Ecuadorian sun, waiting for the players to arrive.