By: Helga Gokah /Albert Kotey
Following two violent consecutive breaches of stadium gates by soccer fans at the Accra Sports Stadium in the last two Black Stars matches, a looming stampede awaits the nation, if the Ghana Police Service does not enhance security measures to control the crowd on Sunday.
There is a growing concern about security during Black Stars games at the Accra Sports Stadium.
As Ghana prepares to host the last group game of the 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Comoros, it is expected that there will be a lot of human and vehicular activities before, during and after the game.
In the last two games against Chad and Mali, Ghana recorded serious security lapses on the matchday which have not been addressed. What is worrying is the surge of such incidents and concerns game by game.
Crowd control has been a difficult job for our stadium security and the Ghana Police Service as fans overran them and pull down barricades to enter the stadium by force.
Security forces on the last two games failed to find an antidote to these numerous acts of aggression, violence and other acts of irresponsibility by the teeming crowd. This resulted in the breaking of the gates for free entry by the fans.
In other situations, the crowd managed to cross over and occupy seats at the Independence Square end of the field, directly beneath the score board which hitherto were prohibited and considered a security zone.
These could have caused a stampede since those places were not approved for spectatorship.
What is more worrying is the handling of fans at the gates. The security forces at many points had difficulty organizing the fans orderly and in some cases had to use some level of aggression in handling the situation.
Some fans were manhandled in those situations.
How the security handled stewardship inside the stadium must also be checked. Security forces who are expected to face the crowd and avert any crowd disturbances were rather seen enjoying the game, whereby neglecting their core responsibilities.
This allowed some recalcitrant fans to misbehave and this created a lot of confusion in the stands.
There were also allegations of security forces selling tickets at the stadium. If this is found to be true, it poses a serious threat to security activities at the stadium.
As Ghana prepares to play Comoros this weekend, it is the wish of all Ghanaians that Ghana qualifiers to the mundial slated for next year in the United States. But the lives of Ghanaians matter and the looming danger at the Accra Sports stadium cannot be overlooked.
May 9th is a subtle reminder of what can happen in the face of such negligence and we cannot allow another disaster befall this great nation.
