Accra Sports Stadium disaster
Encyclopedia
The Accra Sports Stadium disaster occurred at the Accra Sports Stadium
, Accra
, Ghana
on May 9, 2001. It took the lives of 127 people, making it the worst stadium disaster to have ever taken place in Africa
. It occurred during a match between Ghana's two most successful football teams, Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club
and Asante Kotoko
. The home side scored two late goals to defeat Kotoko 2-1 which led to disappointed Kotoko fans throwing plastic seats and bottles onto the pitch. The response to this crowd disturbance from the police was to fire tear gas into the crowd. Panic ensued and a resulting stampede led to the deaths from compressive asphyxia of 127 people.
Reports claim that medical staff had already left the stadium, as the incident happened near the end of the match. Some gates were locked, preventing escape. Six police officers were charged with 127 counts of manslaughter afterwards.As a result of that, on May 9, 2011 each year, Ghanaian football lovers remember what happened on that day. Constant policies are put in place to prevent such a hideous event to happen in the history of Ghana football again.
Accra Sports Stadium
Accra Sports Stadium is a multi-use, 40,000 all-seater stadium in Accra, Ghana, mostly used for association football matches. Originally known as the Accra Sports Stadium, the stadium was renamed after Ohene Djan, the country's first Director of Sports, in 2004...
, Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
on May 9, 2001. It took the lives of 127 people, making it the worst stadium disaster to have ever taken place in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It occurred during a match between Ghana's two most successful football teams, Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club
Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club
Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Hearts of Oak or just Hearts, is an association football club based in Accra, Ghana.- History :...
and Asante Kotoko
Asante Kotoko
Asante Kotoko Football Club, also known as Asante Kotoko, is one of the biggest and most successful football clubs in Ghana as well as being one of the more successful teams in Africa, having won twenty national league titles. They have also twice been champions of Africa. The club's home ground is...
. The home side scored two late goals to defeat Kotoko 2-1 which led to disappointed Kotoko fans throwing plastic seats and bottles onto the pitch. The response to this crowd disturbance from the police was to fire tear gas into the crowd. Panic ensued and a resulting stampede led to the deaths from compressive asphyxia of 127 people.
Reports claim that medical staff had already left the stadium, as the incident happened near the end of the match. Some gates were locked, preventing escape. Six police officers were charged with 127 counts of manslaughter afterwards.As a result of that, on May 9, 2011 each year, Ghanaian football lovers remember what happened on that day. Constant policies are put in place to prevent such a hideous event to happen in the history of Ghana football again.