A solemn wreath-laying ceremony was held last Friday at the forecourt of the Accra Sports Stadium to mark the 24th anniversary of the tragic May 9 Accra Sports Stadium Disaster, which claimed the lives of 127 football fans during a Ghana Premier League match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko in 2001.
Regarded as Ghana and Africa’s biggest stadium disaster, the commemorative event brought together the Minister of Sports and Recreation (MOSR), Mr Kofi Iddie Adams; the Chief Director, Mr William Katey; the Acting Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Mr Yaw Ampofo Ankrah; and the President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku.
Also present were the former chairman of Hearts of Oak,
Mr Harry Zakour, Managing Director of Hearts of Oak; Dr Delali Anku-Adiamah, Marketing Manager of Asante Kotoko, Mr Charles Kwaku Hammond ex-footballers and members of the bereaved families.
Mr Adams laid a wreath on behalf of the President John Dramani Mahama and the people of Ghana.
Mr. Adams stated that although football was a game with great passion, that passion should never escalate into violence, regardless of decisions made or outcomes.
Mr Adams lamented the worrying resurgence of hooliganism in Ghana football, citing the recent death of a Kotoko fan, ‘Nana Pooley’ as a tragedy that must not be repeated.
“The loss of Nana Pooley recently should not have happened. The government of President Mahama is determined to collaborate with the Ghana Police to ensure that every single person behind this act is punished. We will not shield anybody, no matter their status,” he stressed.
The GFA President, Mr Okraku urged stakeholders to remain committed to fighting hooliganism in the sport, stating that “hooliganism has no place in our football. If we continue to misbehave, we will continue to lose lives, which is not the essence of football.”
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
