Today marks exactly seventeen years since Ghana experience the May 9 Stadium disaster that claimed the lives of 127 fans at the Accra Sports Stadium making it the worst Stadium disaster in Africa.
The sad event which occurred on May 9, 2001, is annually marked by the Ghanaian populace with a short remembrance ceremony at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Over the years, former football administrator, Herbert Mensah, with support from donors, has assisted with supporting the wellbeing of victims and families of the disaster.
The support mainly centered on paying school and hospital expenses of wards and dependents of some of the victims and their general wellbeing.
Background
One of Ghana's most successful football teams played that day, the Accra Hearts of Oak (The Phobians) Sporting Club and the Asante Kotoko (Porcupine Warriors) Sporting Club, so officials anticipated upset so had taken extra security measures.
Accra had two late goals and a referee would call 2–1 Accra, resulting in disappointed Kotoko fans throwing plastic seats and bottles onto the pitch.
The police responded by firing tear gas into the crowd.
Panic and a stampede ensued as fans tried to escape but gates were locked and the stadium's compromised design left a bottleneck and fewer exits than originally planned.
Ghana Institute of Architects called the stadium a "death trap." After the hour-long ordeal, it was found that 117 deaths resulted from compressive asphyxia and 10 fans died from trauma