When people lose lives, you must be angry, says Motsepe

EIGHT people were killed in a stampede during an Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 match at Olembe Stadium in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde on Monday night, and the fact that this is still happening in African football in 2022 beggars belief.

Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe echoed this sentiment yesterday when he stated: “Unforeseen circumstances meant a gate which is supposed to be open was closed. There have been very serious discussions with our partners. There is a commitment from us to ensure this does not happen again.

“We are absolutely in a condition of pain. We should not compromise on our insistence that this does happen again.

“When people lose their lives, you must be angry. You must demand answers that it will never happen again. And we’ve done that.”

The stampede happened before the round of 16 match between hosts Cameroon and Comoros, and the clash still went ahead.

Although stadium numbers are limited to 60% capacity for the current edition of Afcon due to Covid-19, home matches for Cameroon are inexplicably allowed 80% capacity. That meant 48 000 fans were allowed to enter Olembe stadium instead of the recommended 36 000.

Despite the release of extra tickets for the game, more fans clamoured to get a glimpse of the home team and were able to overpower stadium security through sheer numbers.

The onus should fall on CAF, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and the Cameroon FA (Fecafoot) to ensure there are enough security and safety measures in place to avoid such disasters.

According to reports, there was also a baby which was injured during the stampede and was said to have been taken to hospital, where the infant is in a “medically stable” condition.

The last major incident at a football match in Africa of a similar nature came in Cairo in 2015, when too many fans attempted to enter a stadium and police reacted by firing teargas and birdshot, which left 19 people dead.

Back in April 2001, 43 people died in a stampede at Ellis Park in Johannesburg in a match between traditional rivals Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.

Incidents such as these, though tragic, should also serve as a lesson in crowd management and how to avoid future disasters.

Yet, at the African footballing showpiece another disaster has taken place which could have been avoided.

For now, CAF will begin investigations, and in future hopefully nothing like this will happen again.