African football: a timeline of tragedies on and off the pitch

Professional soccer as a competitive sport has had its unfair share of tragedies over the years. Apart from the tragedies on the pitch, the spectators have not been spared either.

Africa’s darkest day in football perhaps remains the plane crash of April 27, 1993, when 18 members of the Zambian national team and 12 coaches and crew perished when their plane plunged into the sea off Africa. the coast of Gabon.

The tragedy crosses continents, and that fact was confirmed during a League match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirate. A stampede at Ellis Park in Johannesburg killed 43 people, the worst disaster in South African sporting history.

Africa witnessed yet another sporting tragedy when a local league match between Lupopo and TP Mazembe on 30 April 2001 led to the deaths of 14 people during a stampede following crowd disturbances at a major league match in The city of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo The Nigerian sports family witnessed one of the most horrific football tragedies on December 23, 2008, when nine amateur footballers and two coaches were burned to death in a car accident on their way from Jos, Plateau state.

Tears of grief had barely dried when 15 members of an amateur team, FC Jimeta from Adamawa State, Nigeria, were killed in another car accident on January 26, 2009.

Twelve of the dead were players, while the remaining three were coaches.

Intense heat and overcrowding caused the deaths of 4 football fans at a Ghana League match between Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oaks in Kumasi on Sunday February 8, 2009.

On February 21, 2009, 13 football fans of Ocean Boys FC of Yenegoa of the Nigerian Premier League were killed by suspected cultists on their way to attend a Premier League match between their team and the Bayelsa United at the Ughelli Township Stadium in Delta State, Nigeria.

Tragedy struck the Stade Felix Houphout-Boigny stadium in Abidjan, as the Ivory Coast hosted Malawi, when 22 soccer fans were crushed to death when a fence collapsed as they tried to enter the already packed stadium during a 2010 World Cup qualifier.

Footballers are also not exempt from these tragedies, which often occur on or off the pitch.

Below is a list of African footballers who have died on the pitch.

• Samuel Okwaraji (Nigeria) – died of a heart attack on August 12, 1989
• Amir Angwe (Nigeria) – died of a heart attack on October 29, 1995
• George Iginewari (Nigeria) – died of a gunshot wound in 1995
• Tunde Charity (Nigeria) – died of a head injury in 1997
• Emmanuel Nwanegbo (Nigeria) – died of heart failure on August 30, 1997
• Shamo Quaye (Ghana) – died while training with the team on November 30, 1997
• John Ikoroma (Nigeria) – died of a heart attack in February 2000
• Charles Esheko (Nigeria) – died of cardiac arrest on July 14, 2001
• Marc-Vivien Fo (Cameroon) – died of a heart attack on June 26, 2003
• Sam Okoye (Nigeria) – died after a short illness in August 2005
• Chaswe Nsofwa (Zambia) – died of heart failure on August 29, 2007
• Guy Tchingoma (DR Congo) – died of a heart-related ailment on February 9, 2009
• George Katete (DR Congo)- died of a heart attack on March 5, 2009
• Orobosa Adun (Nigeria) – collapsed and died on May 26, 2009
• Endurance Idahor (Nigeria) – died of a stroke on March 13, 2010