ANOTHER sad week for football on the continent.
We learnt with pain the death of at least 74 soccer fans after the Al-Masry rare 3-1 win over long-time rivals Al-Ahly at the seaside city of Port Said in Egypt on Wednesday.
The Interior Ministry said 74 people died, including one police officer, and 248 were injured, 14 of them police. Security forces arrested 47 people for involvement in the violence, the statement said.
Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim told state TV that 13000 Al-Masry fans stormed the field, jumping a low fence and attacking about 1200 Al-Ahly fans after the upset.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter called the incident "a black day for football".
The Wednesday incident is reminiscent of February 17 1974 in the Egyptian capital of Cairo where crowds, attempting to enter a club game, broke down barriers and 49 people were trampled to death.
But Wednesday's melee was the worst cases of soccer violence in Egypt and the deadliest worldwide since 1996. The shock incident was not an isolated one because there have been fatal disasters at football stadiums around the world.
This has been experienced in countries like Argentina, England, Zimbabwe Cameroon and Zambia. The list is long. The soccer disasters also struck here and what a painful experience it was
On April 11 2001 at Ellis Park Stadium, 47 people were killed during a league match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in an overcrowded stadium. People outside tried to push into the stadium and were trapped against barbed wire.
On January 13 1991 at Oppenheimer Stadium, 42 people lost their lives during a pre-season encounter between Chiefs and Pirates.
Wednesday's unfortunate incident is a warning to soccer authorities at home, including Fifa, that they must never stop revisiting ways and means of curbing crowd behaviour at stadiums.
It is always refreshing to read about the PSL's stadium inspecting team visiting stadiums for routine check-ups. Recently the team temporarily closed the Seshego Stadium for renovations after the PSL deemed the facilities not up to Fifa standards.
The closure of stadiums sometimes does not go down well with club bosses who feel changing venues will inconvenience their supporters and also comes at the cost.
It can be rather costly for clubs to change venues than to put the lives of fans at risk.
Safety must come first and rest will follow.
Make soccer venues safe
ANOTHER sad week for football on the continent.
We learnt with pain the death of at least 74 soccer fans after the Al-Masry rare 3-1 win over long-time rivals Al-Ahly at the seaside city of Port Said in Egypt on Wednesday.
The Interior Ministry said 74 people died, including one police officer, and 248 were injured, 14 of them police. Security forces arrested 47 people for involvement in the violence, the statement said.
Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim told state TV that 13000 Al-Masry fans stormed the field, jumping a low fence and attacking about 1200 Al-Ahly fans after the upset.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter called the incident "a black day for football".
The Wednesday incident is reminiscent of February 17 1974 in the Egyptian capital of Cairo where crowds, attempting to enter a club game, broke down barriers and 49 people were trampled to death.
But Wednesday's melee was the worst cases of soccer violence in Egypt and the deadliest worldwide since 1996. The shock incident was not an isolated one because there have been fatal disasters at football stadiums around the world.
This has been experienced in countries like Argentina, England, Zimbabwe Cameroon and Zambia. The list is long. The soccer disasters also struck here and what a painful experience it was
On April 11 2001 at Ellis Park Stadium, 47 people were killed during a league match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in an overcrowded stadium. People outside tried to push into the stadium and were trapped against barbed wire.
On January 13 1991 at Oppenheimer Stadium, 42 people lost their lives during a pre-season encounter between Chiefs and Pirates.
Wednesday's unfortunate incident is a warning to soccer authorities at home, including Fifa, that they must never stop revisiting ways and means of curbing crowd behaviour at stadiums.
It is always refreshing to read about the PSL's stadium inspecting team visiting stadiums for routine check-ups. Recently the team temporarily closed the Seshego Stadium for renovations after the PSL deemed the facilities not up to Fifa standards.
The closure of stadiums sometimes does not go down well with club bosses who feel changing venues will inconvenience their supporters and also comes at the cost.
It can be rather costly for clubs to change venues than to put the lives of fans at risk.
Safety must come first and rest will follow.
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