By Francis Ofori
Accra, May 09. GNA – The Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS), together with the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and some stakeholders have marked the 23rd anniversary of the May 9 stadium disaster that claimed 127 lives at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The tragic event, which is described as the darkest day in Ghana football, happened on May 9,2001 during a rivalry match between Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak.
As part of remembering the fallen heroes, the football fraternity held a wreath-laying ceremony at the Accra Sports Stadium on Thursday.
Mr. Mustapha Ussif, Minister of Youth and Sports (MoYS) in his address stated that it was necessary to use the incident as a learning curve towards ending hooliganism in Ghana football.
“This year presents us with another opportunity to renew our commitment and adherence to safety and security procedures as well as tolerance towards each other whenever we attempt football or any other sporting event at the various sports facilities across the country,” he said.
He said the football fraternity had been successful in ensuring that fans were safe during league matches.
The Member of Parliament for the Yagaba-Kubori Constituency appealed to football clubs to sensitize supporters as a way of ending hooliganism.
He revealed that the Ministry was in talks with its partners to establish a sports fund insurance to support fans in case such events occurred in future.
Mr. Kurt Okraku, President of the Ghana Football Association said, “23 years down the line, the government, the Sports Authority, GFA took decisive decisions to ensure that we protect not only football, lives and properties.”
He said the football ecosystem had seen improvement in the areas of regulations, strict compliance of club licensing and other key issues.
Mr. Okraku said despite the development, some fans still manage to involve themselves in such barbaric practices, which the association was working to take legal actions against culprits.
“It is imperative for us to come together to roll out pragmatic steps in bringing back our supporters to the stadia,” he urged.
Mr. Abdul Majeed Bawah, Deputy Director General of the National Sports Authority urged the Ghana Football Association to apply strict sanctions against hooligans.
“It is high time we enforce the rules of the GFA so that hooligans will be deterred but if we do not apply sanctions, there is no way we can avoid similar occurrences.”
GNA