SAD! A Black Wednesday in Ghana and African football

Hello fellow football loving steemians,

I present here a sad and memorable event that occurred in Ghana at the Accra Sports Stadium.

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Image from screenshot of videos watched from the site above
Some dead victims

Football is arguably the most interesting sport ever. The beauty stands in how well players play, the enthusiasm of fans, the pre-match and post match debate. It is very interesting how fans defend their teams or favourite players as the best and the opposing views from others.
Football in Ghana is nothing different from that of the Western world. Although of local standards, it has got outstanding players with many called up to international clubs.

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Football hooliganism

Notwithstanding the beauty, entertainment, health, and togetherness football brings or holds, there are times worse things happen. Disasters leading to the loss of many lives are one aspect that takes away the joy we enjoy from football. These are usually caused by plane accidents, fires, stampede and after match debates. Several instances of black moments in football have happened over the years. One memorable one is the saddest event that occurred in Estadio Nacional which claimed 328 lives and left many injured. It is sad at times to recollect such circumstances in such a beautiful sport. Other similar sad moments in world football are the Munich air disaster which occurred on February 6, 1958 taking 23 of the 40 passengers on the plane, The Leicester City helicopter crash on 27th October, 2018 claiming 5 lives, the Heysel Stadium disaster which took 39 lives and left many injured, and the Hillsborough disaster which claimed almost 100 lives leaving many injured. The are several sad moments which are sometimes unappetizing to mention.

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The Hillsborough memorial by Liverpool FC

Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak with nicknames The Porcupine Warriors and The Phobians respectively are the all time best teams in Ghana and great teams o the African continent. A match between these two teams since time long presents hooliganism and instability.

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Image from screenshot of videos watched from the site above
Fans running for refuge and dead victims

The year 2001 presented a black football memory in the minds of all Ghanaians especially the football fans. The sad event occurred on Wednesday, 9th May 2001 at the Accra Sports Stadium and claimed the lives of 126(7) fans. It occurred when with about 5minutes to stoppage the Phobians were leading the Fabulous 2:1, angry fans who thought the referee gave an undeserving goal to the Phobians, started to throw plastic chairs to the pitch.
With the stadium filled with security guards (the police) due to the long rivalry between the two teams, the police started theowing tear gas into the stand in an attempt to scare the fans to stop with their hooliganism. With all gates leading out of the stadium locked after all fans entered, spectators had nowhere to go leading to a stampede.

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Herbert Mensah with some families of the victims

Countless fans were injured and 126-127 fans reported dead after all calmed down. Nearby hospitals were flooded with injured and dying patients from the incident.

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Image from screenshot of videos watched from the site above
Fans running for refuge

The police were blamed for the tragedy but none of those identified were discharged off duty neither were they punished by authorities.
The incident left the whole nation in a state of mourning. This is probably one of the saddest events in Africa and world football.
The lives of these fans and Ghanaians are and will forever be remembered. It was indeed a black Wednesday and a moment of sorrow to the Ghanaian and African football.

Thanks for your attention and if your family member was a victim, my condolence.