Ghana remembers May 9 victims

The Ghana Football Association has urged tolerance at football grounds across the country as the country marks ten years of its worst stadium tragedy.

Ghana was thrown into a state of mourning on May 9, 2001 when 126 football fans died after crowd trouble erupted at a hotly disputed game between arch rivals Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak.

The deaths were triggered by a stampede which erupted as fans attempted to escape from tear gas fumed the police were using to stop a fans who had ripped off seats and hurled them unto the tracks at the Accra Sports Stadium in protest at a Hearts of Oak goal.

The disaster was the worst of its kind in Africa and many close observes of Ghana football say it has played a major role in turning Ghanaian football stadiums into empty arenas with attendances on a sharp decline.

The Ghana Football Association has struggled to deal with the falling numbers in attendance and has used the occasion of the May 9 anniversary to remind football fans about the need to be cautious at football games.

"As the organizers of the premiership therefore, each match in every season becomes a security alert in the effort to avoid the repetition of such tragedies, the GFA said in a statement.

"We need to remind all and sundry that a stadium is constructed essentially to provide for us, a sports to admire and a passion to enjoy. It must never be turned into a fertile arena for violence, or warfare where mayhem is unleashed out of the irate supporters. These supporters move into action in total ignorance of the laws of the game, physically stampeding human beings to loose their lives, much to the shame and scandal of Association Football," read an FA statement.

"Let us therefore embrace the spirit of tolerance which is called for and a teamwork approach which the game demands. We must endeavour to forge ahead in unity with the understanding that all of us play our part diligently to nip in the bud, all the ugly incidences of rowdyism that mar our pastime and deprive us of our enjoyment."