There’s been plenty of worrying (and rightly so) over whether South Africa would be ready to host the 2010 World Cup, what with the fact that corruption is running rampant and multiple stadiums aren’t even near completion. It turns out, unfortunately, that the stadium problems in Africa have already started.
(The scene of a tragedy.)
That’s Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, located in Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast (a small west African nation). Spurred by discounted tickets and the chance to see native superstar Didier Drogba, hordes of fans rushed the stadium to watch a World Cup qualifying match between Ivory Coast and Malawi. Though the stadium was recently refurbished, a wall collapsed under the weight of thousands of fans, sparking a panicked stampede, and now 19 are feared dead (UPDATE: SKY NEWS has raised the total amount of fatalities to 22).
There are several particularly unfortunate details of the incident, even more unfortunate than “22 people just died” usually entails. First of all, this type of incident was, if not expected, per se, worried about beforehand. To that end:
FIFA instigated a programme of stadium inspections across Africa before the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and Abidjan’s Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium was passed as safe for international matches.
About that… no.
The second is the behavior of police during the incident. Rather than trying to restore order, once the wall collapsed, police began firing tear gas into the crowd, causing a stampede that injured, if not killed, many more fans. Granted, there aren’t many options left once you get to the point where barriers are collapsing under the weight of a crowd and panic sets in, but still. The BBC’s report that “poorly-equipped security forces are often unable to control the crowds” seems to be an exercise in understatment here.
And the final unfortunate detail was the the unusual decision to let the match go on as scheduled, even as fans searched desperately for relatives, hoping they were still, you know, alive. In “other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?” news, Ivory Coast crushed Malawi, 5-0, as Drogba scored two goals. So, y’know, there’s that.
9:09 pm on March 29th, 2009
What the hell does the Ivory Coast have to do with South Africa. Those two countries are more than 4,000 miles apart over land. Why don't people understand that Africa is a continent and not a country. The world cup is in SOUTH AFRICA, not the Ivory Coast, or Benin, or Zimbabwe or any other African Country.
12:24 am on March 30th, 2009
Because this Africa's "moment to shine" on the world soccer stage, and this is just one of a series of issues that are damaging the game in the continent. At this rate, it seems like Africa can forget about getting a World Cup anytime in the future.
12:59 am on March 30th, 2009
this is soccer we are talking about right…?
7:56 am on March 30th, 2009
What on earth does a match disaster in the Ivory Coast have to do with the World Cup in South Africa? It wouldn't make sense to link a train crash in China to the state of the rail industry in Russia now, would it? Sick of ignorant people who think Africa is one, big, homogenous place. The continent has 53 countries, and the likelyhood of a country hosting a future World Cup would depend on conditions in that specific country. Why would events in one country have a bearing on the future capacity of other African countries to host certain sporting events? As for stadiums in South Africa not being near completion, please refer to the comprehensive planning committee update presented to UEFA on March 26, 2009, showing that construction on all stadiums is running to schedule, and will be completed in October, the date specified by FIFA.
Once you've done that, go buy yourself a map of the world.
7:57 am on March 30th, 2009
What on earth does a match disaster in the Ivory Coast have to do with the World Cup in South Africa? It wouldn't make sense to link a train crash in China to the state of the rail industry in Russia now, would it? Sick of ignorant people who think Africa is one, big, homogenous place. The continent has 53 countries, and the likelyhood of a country hosting a future World Cup would depend on conditions in that specific country. Why would events in one country have a bearing on the future capacity of other African countries to host certain sporting events? As for stadiums in South Africa not being near completion, please refer to the comprehensive planning committee update presented to UEFA on March 26, 2009, showing that construction on all stadiums is running to schedule, and will be completed in October, the date specified by FIFA. Once you've done that, go buy yourself a map of the world.
7:38 pm on March 31st, 2009
They never wanted us to make it, everything we possess we had to fight to take it…you get the drift, don't hate, congratulate, the world cup is coming to Africa, you can jump in the river Thames.
12:06 am on April 2nd, 2009
Linking the tragic event in Ivory Coast to the world cup in South Africa is foolish and ignorant. Africa is not a country, it is a continent. and please "Miami High" it is not Africa's time to shine but South Africa's time to shine. Your ignorance irritates me. Perhaps you should pick of a geography book and you might realize that South Africa and Ivory Coast are not the same country. it like likening mexico's current drug cartel problems to Costa Rica