World Football governing body
FIFA is demanding explanations for the events at the Essipong
Stadium that overshadowed Ghana’s qualification for the final round
of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
KickOffGhana.com understands
that FIFA officially asked the Ghana Football Association to provide
a full report on the events at Sekondi after reports that a stampede
had occurred at the venue of the match injuring fifteen fans in the
process.
World Cup qualifying games in
Africa in the past has been beset by crowd trouble and FIFA is keen
to prevent any further occurrences hence the swift reaction to the
Ghana incident.
The 20,000 capacity stadium
which was hosting its first game involving the senior national team
the black Stars was badly over crowded with many fans taking up the
stairways and some allowed inside the inner perimeter to ease the
over crowding.
Many fans got into the stadium
without tickets after they broke down two gates to gain free entry
while those with tickets could not get access to seats.
Ghana Football Association
president Kwesi Nyantekyie blamed the problems on a lack of
experience of the organisers and poor ticketing and security
arrangements which was handled by the National Sports Council.
"There were so many security
personnel at the stadium but it appeared to me there were problems.
"This was the first time the
Black Stars or any of the national teams were playing a game here
and it appears the organisers were overwhelmed about it. It may have
accounted for the lapses," Nyantekyie told KickOffGhana.com.