Nana Yaw Amponsah, the Chief Executive Officer of Asante Kotoko, has urged the National Sports Authority (NSA) and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to erect monuments at every venue of the Ghana Premier League to serve as reminders of the May 9 stadium disaster.
In a ceremony organized by the NSA, GFA, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the 22nd anniversary of the May 9 disaster was commemorated. This tragic event occurred in 2001 at the Accra Sports Stadium, resulting in the loss of 127 football fans' lives due to a stampede during a Premier League match between Hearts of Oak and Kotoko.
According to the CEO of Kotoko, it is crucial to have reminders at all league venues, as some football fans still engage in hooliganism even after 22 years.
“Hooliganism still continues unabated in our league. Recently, we saw what happened to Tamale City. It’s been happening at various venues. Each of the 22 years that have passed, we have witnessed hooliganism in our league [and] it means we have not learnt from that incident,” he told Joy Sports.
“When it comes to May 9 [aside] the commemoration, this monument [at the Accra Sports Stadium] should be put at every league venue, at every league centre to remind us. There should be something like a signpost to remind us that if you go in and misbehave, what happened 22 years ago can repeat itself.
“I think that should go a long way to help us because we are not acting as if we have learnt from it. That is the unfortunate part.”
During the 22nd-anniversary commemoration of the incident, wreaths were laid on behalf of the State, NSA, GFA, Hearts of Oak, Asante Kotoko, and the families of the bereaved.
