The sixth anniversary of Ghana’s most tragic football history, referred to commonly as the May 9 Stadium Disaster, passed without any official ceremonies.
At midday, the Ghana Football Association was planning to issue a statement in remembrance of the tragic 2001 violence that resulted in the deaths of 126 football fans at the Ohene Djan Stadium (Accra Sports Stadium).
On the fateful day, a Premier League game between bitter rivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko ended in chaos when duty police men at the stadium shot teargas into irate fans who were tearing at plastic chairs and hurling them onto the playing field to protest poor officiating.
Previously, national ceremonies had honoured the memories of the 126 who perished while the occasion is used as a platform for admonition against violence at games.
Around the country, Joy News correspondents tell of private family gatherings in homes of victims where memorial ceremonies were held.
In Accra, the leader of Accra Hearts of Oak’s support base, Chapter ‘O’, thought to have suffered the most casualties as a group recalled his personal encounter and narrow escape on the day and said the essence of the tragic events should never be lost on society.
Abdul Aziz Futah said Chapter ‘O’ lost six of its members and he saw one who was calling him for help while he himself was fighting to survive.
Meanwhile, the government spokesperson on Social Services, Kofi Amponsah-Bediako says government will launch an appeal for funds to support the education of children of victims of the disaster to the tertiary level.
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