“Say no to hooliganism” – Sports Minister charges spectators

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Mustapha Ussif has called for zero tolerance for hooliganism at football and sports centres to forestall the May 9 Stadium tragedy that befell the country two decades ago.

Speaking at the commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the disaster in Accra, the Minister called on all stakeholders to ensure hooliganism is eradicated from our sports.

Speaking under theme “Never Again, Say No To Hooliganism,” Hon. Mustapha expressed belief that the commemoration of the event annually has helped in shaping our football, and thaf lessons picked from the solemn day has strengthened the cohesion and harmony sports gave to Ghanaian fans.

“It is incumbent on all of us to aggressively pursue and ensure a zero-tolerance for hooliganism in our game. That is the way we can truly pay tribute to our departed colleagues”, the Minister said.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to invest massively in infrastructure to ensure our stadia are safe and sound for all sporting activities, which will ensure fans enjoy the best of events.

He also appealed to the sports-loving fans to “exhibit discipline at the various stadia to forestall an occurrence of the unfortunate incident” and assured them of the government playing its role to ensure the best mechanism for their safety.

He ended by commending the May 9 Stadium Disaster Fund for investing in the education of wards of victims, some he said were in the University.

The Director-General of the National Sports Authority, Professor Peter Twumasi, also indicated the Authority’s provision to ensure modern mechanisms and structures were in place to improve the use of our stadia by both teams and fans. He added the continued upgrading of safety and security measures at sporting facilities which has ensured the disaster does not repeat itself.

The Vice President of GFA, Mark Addo, urged the Ghana Police Service to train personnel in crowd control especially at our stadia.

Two representatives of both from Kotoko and Hearts were also given the platform to share their perspective.

127 lives were reported to have been lost after violence broke in 2001 at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium during the biggest football match in Ghana, between the 2 biggest clubs, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko. The event is commemorated annually to ensure lessons are learnt from that day believed the commemoration of the event annually has helped in shaping our football, and lessons picked from the solemn day has strengthened the cohesion and harmony sports gave to Ghanaian fans.

“It is incumbent on all of us to aggressively pursue and ensure a zero-tolerance for hooliganism in our game. That is the way we can truly pay tribute to our departed colleagues”, he added.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to invest massively in infrastructure to ensure our stadia are safe and sound for all sporting activities, which will ensure fans enjoy the best of events.

He also appealed to the sports-loving fans to “exhibit discipline at the various stadia to forestall an occurrence of the unfortunate incident” and assured them of the government playing its role to ensure the best mechanism for their safety.

He ended by commending the May 9 Stadium Disaster Fund for investing in the education of wards of victims, some he said were in the University.

The Director-General of the National Sports Authority, Professor Peter Twumasi, also indicated the Authority’s provision to ensure modern mechanisms and structures were in place to improve the use of our stadia by both teams and fans. He added the continued upgrading of safety and security measures at sporting facilities which has ensured the disaster does not repeat itself.

The Vice President of GFA, Mark Addo, urged the Ghana Police Service to train personnel in crowd control especially at our stadia.

Two representatives of both from Kotoko and Hearts were also given the platform to share their perspective.

127 lives were reported to have been lost after violence broke in 2001 at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium during the biggest football match in Ghana, between the 2 biggest clubs, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko. The event is commemorated annually to ensure lessons are learnt from that day.