May 9 stadium disaster lessons still not fully learnt – Amarkai Amarteifio

The Board Chairman of Accra Great Olympics FC, Major (Rtd) Amarkai Amarteifio, has expressed concern that Ghana’s football community has not fully learned the lessons from the country’s worst stadium disaster.

The disaster, which occurred at the Accra Sports Stadium, remains the deadliest in African football history. It unfolded during a match between Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko, when crowd disturbances led to police firing tear gas into the stands.

The resulting panic triggered a stampede as supporters attempted to exit the stadium, with locked gates contributing to the scale of the tragedy. More than 120 people lost their lives.

Speaking to Citi Sports, Amarteifio said he believes the legacy of the events of 9 May 2001 has not led to sufficient improvements in safety standards within the game.

Reflecting on the incident more than two decades later, Amarteifio suggested that similar risks remain present at matches in Ghana.

“I am not sure, it nearly occurred three or four years ago, we had a Hearts-Olympics match, a similar thing happened, a gate collapsed under the weight of the crowd and why that should happen.

“I don’t know why that should happen, but it happened, and I was very much afraid that night. I remember Nick Amarteifio here struggling to get through the gate, struggling to come through the gates.”

He added that the lack of visible reform remains worrying, stressing that the legacy of May 9 appears not to have translated into consistent improvements in crowd safety and stadium management.

“We should have learnt from May 9. What happened 3-4 years ago sent a very bad message to me that it doesn’t look like we’ve learned all the lessons.”

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