Hillsborough Revisited: 22 Killed in Stampede During Ivory Coast World Cup Game

As the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster fast approaches, the recent 2010 World Cup Qualifier between the Ivory Coast and Malawi provided a stark reminder of those unfortunate events in Sheffield 20 years ago.

Chilling similarities between the two events—and other disasters in African football—provide insight into the way football matches are governed in some parts of Africa, with the police and match officials at the event unable to deal with the situation that unfolded.

In the hours after the incident, conflicting evidence has been coming out of Africa. The Ivory Coast sports minister has said that ticketless supporters broke down a gate and, despite being near full capacity already, began pushing their way inside the stadium some 40 minutes before the game was due to kick off. 

Some sources have stated that the police fired tear-gas into the crowd where the ticketless supporters were said to be entering. 

As the sudden swell of bodies began to crush against each other, a wall collapsed. The tear gas is said to have added confusion to the large number of supporters and a stampede broke out.

Reports in some parts have claimed that cut-price tickets were over sold prior to the game, and the stadium was at full 45,000 capacity before the extra supporters began pushing their way inside. It has also been claimed that up to 60,000 fans were present inside the Abidjan stadium.

As people began fleeing the chaos, 22 supporters were reported to have been killed, with more than 130 injured in the unfortunate incident.

This is not the first time such a disaster has happened in Africa.

Crushes and riots are common-place in the usually overcrowded football stadiums. In the last year alone, eight people were killed in a similar crush during a game in Liberia, and a further 11 lives were lost in riots at a match in the Congo.

That is a very small figure compared to Africa's worst ever sporting disaster, when some 126 people died during a league match in Ghana in 2001. Rioting broke out and after tear-gas was again fired in to the crowd by police, a stampede began and people were trampled as they tried to escape.

That serious loss of life came just weeks after another 54 supporters died at two separate stadium disasters in Africa. In just under a month, over 180 deaths had occurred.

Tear gas has been described as "the scourge of African football." The overuse and overreaction to small events by Police and poorly trained security officials over the years is well known, and the cause of a great many deaths.

Overcrowding, rioting, hooliganism, and seriously outdated security measures have caused dozens of stadium disasters in African football.

This recent incident looks to have echoed similar tragedies from African football's past, like the 2001 Ellis Park Disaster in South Africa—the hosts of the 2010 World Cup.

Facebook Users have found a unique way to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the unfortunate events during the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield 1989. Click Here to find out more about their international project and maybe you can contribute before April 15th 2009.