GRi Sports 09 – 05 - 2003
May 9 Stadium Disaster Scholarship ready
Prosecution Witness recalled in stadium disaster case
Nation remembers tragedy that thought few lessons
GFA foresees a tougher premier league
May the league run in peace, not in pieces
May 9 Stadium Disaster Scholarship ready
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 May 2003 - The Ministry of Information on Thursday said scholarships for children of the May 9 Accra Sports Stadium Disaster were ready and asked guardians of such children to collect them.
Guardians of children of victims of the May 9 Accra Sports Stadium Disaster are being reminded again to collect their scholarship cheques from the Disaster Relief Fund Management Committee located at Room 2, Ministry of Information, Accra," the Ministry said in a statement.
The statement signed by S.K. Awadzi, Public Relations Officer, for the Chief Director of the Ministry, said they should bring along the current school report of the beneficiary and passport-size photographs of the guardian and beneficiary.
GRi…/
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Prosecution Witness recalled in stadium disaster case
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 May 2003 - Police Constable Mark Sam Atulesi, a Prosecution Witness in the 9 May Stadium Disaster trial, who had earlier been discharged by an Accra High Court, returned to the witness box on Thursday at the instance of Defence Counsel.
William Ofori Boafo, Counsel for Superintendent Mintah Koranteng, had asked for the recall of the Witness to clarify certain points. He said during one of the court's sittings his attention was drawn to some events, which took place at the Okudjeto Commission that investigated the Stadium Disaster and he would like to cross-examine him further.
The officers on trial are John Asare Naami, Faakyi Kumi, Frank Awuah, Francis Aryee, Benjamin B. Bakomora, all Assistant Superintendents of Police and Chief Superintendent of Police, Koranteng Mintah.
They have pleaded not guilty to 127 counts of manslaughter and are on ˘20m bail each with two sureties. During the cross-examination on Thursday, a photograph on the disaster was shown to Atulesi and he identified himself in it.
He said the picture captured him standing at a place where other Policemen were firing. Atulesi further pointed out that Chief Superintendent Mintah was also standing at the extreme left in the photograph.
When Counsel asked Witness to estimate the distance at which he was standing and where Chief Superintendent was, Witness said he could not tell. Defence: Can you identify one Inspector Ampomah in the photograph?
Witness: Yes, I can.
Defence: Who else can you see in the photograph?
Witness: I can see ASP Awuah.
When witness was asked whether he knew that Chief Superintendent Mintah was with the armoury squadron and that he was on transfer to the Takoradi, Witness said he was not aware.
The Prosecution interrupted and pointed out to Defence that Witness' recall was to enable him (Defence) to cross-examine Witness on the photograph shown to the Court.
The Court also drew the attention of Defence Counsel to the fact that Witness had earlier answered all questions directed to him. Hearing continues on 14 May.
GRi…/
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Nation remembers tragedy that thought few lessons
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 May 2003 - On Saturday when fans of Hearts of Oak and Liberty Professionals file past the main entrance at the Accra Stadium for the opening of the national premier league, they would find out about a few changes at that entrance.
The Vice president of the republic would this morning unveil a monument in memory of the 126 football fans who lost their lives two years ago as Hearts played Asante Kotoko in a crucial league decider.
The events of that day have earned Ghana a reputation in international media circles that no one would be proud of-the country where Africa’s worst football disaster occurred.
As we mark the anniversary, six senior police officers would be wondering what fate awaits them in the ongoing trial for manslaughter. They are John Naami, Faakye Kumi, Frank Awuah, Frank Aryee, B.B Bakomora, all Assistant Superintendent of Police and Chief Superintendent of Police, Koranteng Mintah. An Accra High court has been hearing evidence from media men, club officials including Herbert Mensah and several people at the scene of the disaster that day.
The men like many football fans had gone to the Accra Stadium for the traditional high-tension classic between Hearts and Kotoko. It was one of those games both sides needed to win badly and after leading for long periods of the game, Kotoko were hit by two great goals from Ishmael Addo to deny them a famous victory.
Defeat is hard to take for fans used to success but Kotoko’s was made more painful by the fact that it was to their bitterest rivals. They contended Ishmael’s match winner had come from an offside position and demonstrated their anger by ripping off seats at the grounds and hurling them unto the tartan tracks at the stadium.
The police responded with tear gas and as the fans attempted to escape, they crushed against locked gates in narrow passageways. The national outcry was damning with the police taking incredible flack for the loss of lives. Mobs attacked police personnel as the peace officers took the chunk of the blame for disaster.
President Kuffour jumped to the aid of them, pleading for calm as the events threatened to influence more violence. "The enormity of the catastrophe is too much for us mortals to understand and this may have led to the violent incidents in a part of Accra. There has been a general condemnation of the police service but I will ask for maximum restraint to allow some proper procedures to identify those behind this disaster”.
Kuffour moved quickly to set up a probe headed by the former head of the Ghana Bar Association Sam Okudzeto. The report of the commission placed a large chunk of the blame at the doorsteps of the police but also recommended that the structure of the Accra Stadium be changed to allow for large entrances and exits for free movement.
But the report said little about the fans’ rioting that led to the firing of the tear gas, prompting accusations that the commission had conveniently overlooked the root cause of the tragedy.
The best thing that was said around the time however came from President Kuffour who told a mass memorial service that never again should such tragedy befall the nation. “This is a time for the healing process to begin. We owe it to the memory of those departed,” Kufuor said after laying a wreath. `”We must resolve never again to allow such a disaster to happen.”
While nothing close to that has happened, there have been occurrences after that dreadful day to suggest the nation has not really absorbed the lessons of May 9. Take the staircase to the Accra Stadium upper terrace section. There you would find narrow staircases that would do very little to ease the number of casualties if anything happened. Barbed wires still decorate some of the stands while violence continues to reign supreme at many league centres in the land.
The worst part of it though is the ease with soccer fans still contest refereeing decisions they disagree with by resorting to violence. At least once after the disaster, fans have ripped chairs at the same North stand-now May 9 stand where the tragedy occurred. Flying Iced water bags and bottles have become the by-word for disaffection be it against the decision of a referee or a coach’s tactics.
To those for whom the events of that evening- the tears, lifeless able bodies and desperate relatives looking for their loved ones have become tattooed on their minds- scenes like those only bring back memories of a terrible day that could so easily have been avoided.
With the national league season scheduled to kick off on
Saturday, it would be critical that we keep president Kuffour’s words in mind:
“We must resolve never again to allow such a disaster to happen.” – JoyOnLine
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GFA foresees a tougher premier league
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 May 2003 - The 2003 National Premier League, which is scheduled to kick off on Sunday, May 11 at all the league, centres across the country, is expected to be tougher league as compared to that of last year.
Views sampled by the GNA Sports from football administrators revealed that the anticipation of participating clubs is very high and people are looking forward to an exciting league.
According to most Ghanaians the level of preparation put up by all the teams this year gives credence to the fact that the nation is going to witness a competitive league which at the end would improve the quality of play on the local scene and attract more people to the stadium.
Ben Koufie, Chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) said in an interview with the GNA Sports that the pre-season has been very good and all the clubs have prepared well for the season.
According to the FA Chairman, he is expecting a keener and a competitive league this time adding that the 2003 league would definitely be an improvement upon that of last year. He expressed the hope that the league would be devoid of acts of indiscipline that might cause unnecessary delays.
On his part, Yussif Adam Ibrahim President of the Executive Council of the GFA, told the GNA Sports, " this year's league is going to be full of surprises and one can hardly tip the winner".
He said the traditional clubs like Hearts and Kotoko are going to face stiffer oppositions from the other clubs since they have put in a lot of preparations to give them a good run for their money.
Ibrahim said the league is no longer going to be dominated by only two clubs because he is expecting other clubs to be in a close race with Hearts and Kotoko.
The Executive Council President said he is also looking forward to an improved officiating this year as it would contribute greatly to the success of the league.
Douglass Djarbeng Chairman of the Division One League Board (DOL) stated categorically " this year, I think is for Kotoko, there is no doubt about that".
He said Kotoko has proven to all that they are ready for the league title taking into consideration their performance during the pre-season.
Djarbeng on the other hand bared his heart out for newly promoted Heart of Lions saying " they would cause a surprise, they have prepared well and enjoy the backing of the entire Volta Region, it is good sign for them".
According to him he has seen a great level of seriousness in the new club adding that they even train on days other clubs are resting, " I think they are capable of taking every body by surprise".
The DOL chairman said defending champions Accra Hearts of Oak needs to revamp their team before they can really make any impact this year.
"I think Hearts are declining in their six year rule of the domestic league and this year might not be theirs" Djarbeng told the GNA Sports.
"We are not ready to go through what happened to us last year and we have revamped our squad with some young and talented players for the league and I'm looking forward to a better league this year" These are the words of Eric Michel, Team Manager of Power FC.
He said our players have also been well motivated for the task ahead and they are going to put up a good performance to place well in the league.
Michel said with the presence of good teams like Stay Cool Professionals and Heart of Lions, the premiership would bring a lot of excitement and make the league tough.
The Team Manager however called for a level playing grounds in terms of officiating for all the sixteen clubs in the premiership. Alhaji Abdul Karim Grunsah, Chairman and bank roller of King Faisal Football Club said, " Insha Allahu we shall win the league".
GRi…/
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May the league run in peace, not in pieces
The thrills and spills inherent in association football will
be back to all, the league centres when the tenth edition of the national
premier league gets underway this weekend.
It is needless to say that the competition is starting way behind schedule because of circumstances that could have been avoided through respect for one another, in depth consultation, dialogue and persuasion.
There is no need crying over spilt milk as the protracted agitation and legal tussle, which culminated in the delay have had their toll on premiership teams as well as the Division One League (DOL) campaigners.
In the end, Kpando Hearts of Lions and Dansoman Stay Cool survived the 'incomplete first division league' to book their places in the premiership.
Maybe, if the first division league had travelled its full course with teams honouring home and away fixtures, the Lions would have widened their gap and qualified much easier or other teams would have challenged more ferociously than they did.
Maybe Midtjiland, Mighty Royals, Volta Warriors, Salgado, Olympiakos or Vipers or any other team from the DOL could have qualified to play in the sub-middle and or the middle league.
Having made that point clear, it is imperative to say that the arrival of the "Akpini Lions" has given the national premiership a wider geographical spread as the Volta Region is now adequately represented while Stay Cool has saturated representation in the capital, raising the number of clubs to four against a single venue, the Accra Sports Stadium.
Though the late start of the programme may have affected some of the clubs adversely, it could be a blessing to others who might have used the long break to prepare very well for the incoming season.
New entrants Hearts of Lions and Stay Cool could be the worst affected as they have just concluded a rigorous middle league which came at the heels of a sub-middle league which was equally stressful and devastating.
Pre season favourites, Asante Kotoko appear to have been the best beneficiary of the delay. New coach Abdul Razak has had time to blend his team, which is showing great form and Emmanuel Afranie at Great Olympics has had enough time to sieve and replenish his team in readiness for the premiership.
Dread locked Nana Agyemang at Okwawu United has started talking big, making everybody believe that he has transformed his team into a championship class and Ken Augustt has had enough time to prepare Power for their playoff which they won against Cape Coast Dwarfs. And what about the courtship and marriage between Alhaji Karim Grunsah and Hebert Mensah at Kumasi King Faisal!
Despite the advantages and or disadvantages that might have robbed on the 16 clubs due to the late start of the premier league, it is hoped that they would all be game and sporting enough to make the competition a success.
In doing so, the clubs must ensure that that their supporters are properly educated about the rules so that they would uphold the decisions of referees and their assistants and avert unnecessary complains and reactions, which might lead to crowd misconduct.
It is exactly two years since 127 able bodied Ghanaians died in a stampede at the Accra Sports Stadium and it behoves on everybody to abhor and detest violence at sporting events to avoid a recurrence of such a tragedy. Let us ensure that the events of 9 May 2001 never happen again on our sporting calendar.
Club officials must ensure that they do not apportion blame unnecessarily to match officials as such behaviour infuriates and instigates supporters covertly or overtly.
Teams, must as a matter of principle denounce corruption and refuse to tempt referees with offers that would make them influence the result of matches they handle and referees must have the moral courage to refuse offers. They must also be bold enough to report any team official who proposes or offers a bribe.
It is hoped that those who have found themselves at the helm of affairs in today's football administration must be mindful of the fact that others had come before them and others would come after them and that their performance would be judged by history and posterity.
They must not loaf and pretend to be overburdened with work when indeed their productivity does not reflect that. They must be objective in their decisions and must not show an iota of bias against any club, no matter where it comes from. They must be bold to accept responsibility for the actions they take, no matter the consequences, instead of finding scapegoats.
When it comes to adjudicating on matters between clubs, they must be firm and fair and ensure that the rules have only one interpretation. Our sports administrators must plan well to ensure that the league is not unnecessarily halted for one spurious reason or the other.
The leagues must run their full courses without too many postponements and the fans must ensure that our leagues are played in peace. Keep shooting.
GRi…/
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