�Never Again Should Stadium Disaster Recur� � Mills

President John Evans Atta Mills says never again should the stadium disaster of May 9, 2001 be allowed to recur in Ghana. This year marks ten years of the stampede at the Accra Sports Stadium that killed 126 soccer fans. Speaking at the precincts of the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday May 14, at a wreath laying commemoration ceremony, President Mills urged soccer enthusiasts, security personnel and sports administrators to imbibe the spirit of competition devoid of acrimony. He cautioned sports administrators and security personnel not to compromise public safety at any stadium in the country. The President, who joined others to lay a wreath at the cenotaph that was built in memory of the deceased soccer fans, described that incident as unfortunate and called for support for the surviving families of the victims. �In this case, it serves as an opportunity for us to look back ten years ago and examine the events and see what went wrong and take steps to avoid any future recurrence. This was a very painful event and not even time can lessen the pain. Especially in sports, let us compete in a healthy manner even regardless of the rivalry. And we think also, that those who are connected with the organisation of sports and those who are there also to protect lives, will so cooperate with one another that at the end of the day we will remember only the sporting event and not the tragedies that are associated with these events� the President said. The disaster which occurred during a match between rivals Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak was the worst stadium disaster ever to hit Ghana and the continent in recent years. As part of the commemoration, there will be a street march at principal streets of the capital, to educate soccer fans on the need to eschew hooliganism and all forms of negative behaviours that could inflame passions during football games. There will also be a commemorative game between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko on Saturday May 14, to commemorate the day. Ghana legend Mohammed Polo is expected to feature for Accra Hearts of Oak. Polo�s appearance will drive the fans to the stadium. The dribble magician will be joined by 1978 African Footballer of the Year Abdul Razak who will feature for Kotoko.