A Fraud Prevention and Security Expert, Richard Kumadoe, has asserted that Ghana has not learned from the security breaches that led to the loss of 126 lives; the May 9 disaster, which occurred 24 years ago.
Speaking on Woezor TV on Friday, May 9, Mr. Kumadoe emphasized that the country’s stadiums are more like crime scenes than playing fields.
He cited the murder of an Asante Kotoko fan, Pouley, at a match game in Nsoatre as an example of the numerous stadium security breaches.
Mr. Kumadoe stressed that the country has not been proactive enough in securing match venues.
““Even the venues you are using to play the matches are not standard, and they are not supposed to be allowed in the first place.
“So that is really a crime against the supporters who come, and it’s a crime against the players themselves, and it’s a crime against the managers of the games. So you are committing a crime against them.
“You know their environment is not right, their facility is not right, and you put these people there. So that alone is a crime on its own, and I wasn’t surprised when we were banned or were nearly banned with the sanctions that came with it.
He advocated for the prosecution of individuals responsible for negligence and oversights in stadium security.
“Crime is a crime, irrespective of where it’s committed or who committed it,” Mr. Kumadoe emphasized.
To make Ghana’s football and sports attractive, Mr. Kumadoe suggested that clubs involve experts to properly manage the game.
“There are sports pathologies we need to address, and many things we need to get into the game that we’re not getting,” he said.
On May 9, 2001, the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra, Ghana, witnessed one of the deadliest stadium disasters in history.
The Accra Sports Stadium disaster claimed the lives of 126 people, making it the worst stadium disaster in Africa and the third-deadliest in the history of association football.
The disaster occurred during a match between Ghana’s two most successful football teams, Accra Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko.
Anticipating crowd disturbances, authorities had implemented extra security measures, including riot-control police officers.
However, when Accra scored two late goals, winning the match 2-1, disappointed Kotoko fans threw plastic seats and bottles onto the pitch.
Police responded by firing tear gas shells into the crowd, triggering a panic and stampede as fans tried to flee the irritant fumes.
The stadium’s design and locked gates exacerbated the tragedy, resulting in a bottleneck with fewer exits than originally planned. The Ghana Institute of Architects later described the stadium as a “death trap.”
After the hour-long ordeal, 116 deaths were attributed to compressive asphyxia, while 10 fans died from trauma.
The Accra Sports Stadium disaster remains a somber reminder of the importance of stadium safety and crowd control measures.
