Just over a year before Africa hosts the FIFA World Cup 2010, the football world once again witnessed another fan tragedy.   19 football fans were killed and nearly 130 injured after a stampede at the Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abijan in Ivory Coast.   Although initial estimates were higher the disaster has now been confirmed to have left 19 people dead and over 130 injured as a wall collapsed before the FIFA World Cup qualifier between Ivory Coast and Malawi.   A match which amazingly still went ahead and which the Ivorians inspired by Didier Drogba won 5-0.

Three days of national mourning were subsequently declared by the Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo and Football's world governing body FIFA asked for a minute's silence to be observed before the kick-off of the World Cup qualifiers being played on Tuesday and Wednesday 1st April.    After investigations it is said that an external situation quickly escalated as panic set in with nearly 50,000 fans in and around a stadium that holds just 35,000. Ticketless fans have been blamed for causing a stampede to get into the stadium but corruption is also being blamed with police accused of taking 'cash bribes' at gates to let ticket less fans in.    Some supporters meanwhile have said security forces sparked the stampede when they fired tear gas at congregating crowds.   Spectators who didn't have tickets, tried to force their way in and broke down one of the stadium gates and in the stampede people were crushed to death.

While it is worrying that the game went ahead despite such a loss of life, what is more worrying is that the tragedy in Abidjan is the second such incident during African qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in Africa.   In June 2008, at least eight people died in a crush in Liberia as spectators jostled to get into an already overcrowded stadium in Monrovia for the match between Liberia and The Gambia.

Football has witnessed its fair share of stadium disasters compared to so many other sports. European nations seem to have learned a lesson after a catalogue of disasters in a number of countries. In Scotland there was the Ibrox disaster; in England the Hillsborough disaster; in the Champions Cup we saw the Heysel Disaster. Going even further back there was the 1967 Kayseri Atatürk Stadium in Turkey and possibly the events surrounding the Luzhkiki disaster in 1982 has never been fully revealed.    However, its doubtful in even the most shoddy of grounds, as to whether a disaster of such loss of life will occur in Europe again.

The problem in Africa is that lessons do not seem to be learned. Moreover it seems incredible that such a disaster can occur before the match and the game still goes ahead with many of those who started the crush going onto enjoy the game.   It has also transpired after the game that some of the players of both team saw lifeless bodies being carried past the changing rooms pre-match.   When you consider that  the Ivory Coast team is full of players that play in France and at Chelsea and Arsenal these seems incredible.   Meanwhile the country's president who was at the game, has said that he did not know of any problem until a half-time briefing.  

Police corruption, administrative negligence and out of control supporters are a number of reason as to why problems occur in Africa.    It is not long ago that the Accra Sports Stadium disaster in Ghana claimed nearly 130 lives before a club match and many were jailed for manslaughter due to mistakes.    This is another indicator that iullustrates why the occurrence of such events in Africa needs to be arrested and put to an end quickly.