Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Mustapha Ussif has stated that his outfit in collaboration with the government has equipped various stadiums in Ghana with the relevant equipment and facilities to ensure that May 9 stadium disaster is averted in the near future.
9th May, 2023 marked the 22nd anniversary of the unfortunate incident that occurred at the Accra sports Stadium on Wednesday May 9, 2001.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports collaborated with the National Sports Authority (NSA) and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to commemorate the incident in 2001 that left 127 football supporters dead at the Accra Sports Stadium after a stampede occurred during a match between Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko in the Ghana Premier League.
The Ghana Football Association, Ministry of Youth and Sports, National Sports Authority, and representatives of Hearts and Kotoko participated in a wreath-laying ceremony on 9th May, 2023 to honor football fans who lost their lives in one of the world’s most tragic football disasters.
The May 9 tragedy remembrance, according to Mr. Mustapha Ussif, served as a sobering reminder of what needs to be done to prevent future events of this kind.
“As Sports Minister, I am committed to ensuring the safety of all athletes and football fans, and we must take the necessary steps to ensure such a tragedy does not happen again,’’ he said.
He also disclosed that measures have been put in place to make sure fans are safe at our various stadia.
“The government of Nana Akufo-Addo has ensured that our stadium facilities that is Tamale Sports Stadium, Accra Sports Stadium, Takoradi, Cape Coast and the Baba Yara Stadium, all these facilities have first class ambulance facilities to ensure that we are able to give emergency care to our spectators,” he added.
The General secretary of the Ghana Football Association Prosper Harrison Addo Esq urged sports fans to adopt a mindset of solidarity instead of fanaticism.
“The key part is human behavior, you can build the best of stadiums but if the individuals do not change their mindset and do not see each other as fellow Ghanaians who have come to enjoy football there will be no improvement.
“football is a sports just like any other and there are various outcome and the fact that there are various outcomes is the reason we love the game, for I dare say if all football matches were to end in one particular way, I don’t think anybody will follow football,”Harrison Addo said.
Prosper Harrison Addo, the General Secretary of the GFA, Nana Yaw Amponsah, the CEO of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, and several representatives of Accra Hearts of Oak were among the notable personalities that attended the annual wreath-laying ceremony.
Story by: Rashad Usman Sinah ||univers.ug.edu.gh||
