The 2009 Houphouët-Boigny stampede occurred on 29 March 2009 in the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...

, Ivory Coast before a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match between

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

and Ivory Coast. Nineteen people were killed and 135 were injured. In an attempt to control a stampede police fired

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...

into the crowds, who had begun jostling with each other at least 40 minutes before kick off. The match was particularly popular among locals, with world stars such as Didier Drogba, Sol Bamba and

Salomon Kalou Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou (born 5 August 1985) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward and winger for Djiboutian club Arta/Solar7. He previously played for Feyenoord from 2003 to 2006 and Chelsea from 2006 to 2012. ...

due to play for Ivory Coast.

Overview

The match was the first match in group 5 of round 3 of the CAF zonal qualifying. It was played despite the deaths occurring before kick off, and was won 5–0 by Ivory Coast. Officials have said that ticketless football fans were to blame for the stampede. Ivorian Prime Minister

Guillaume Soro Guillaume Kigbafori Soro (born 8 May 1972) is an Ivorian politician who was the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from April 2007 to March 2012. Prior to his service as Prime Minister, Soro led the Patriotic Movement of Côte d'Ivoire, and late ...

held a crisis meeting with ministers and football officials on 30 March to discuss the tragedy. FIFA President Sepp Blatter said: "I wish to express extreme sorrow and extend our condolences to the Ivorian football community and, most importantly, to family, friends and loved ones following the tragic deaths in Abidjan yesterday. FIFA has also launched an inquiry into how the tragedy happened". On 9 May 2009 FIFA decided to extend its investigation into the event, they interviewed members of the Ivorian Football Federation, police and other local and national organisations. FIFA had not given a deadline for the conclusion of the investigation. On 22 July 2009, FIFA fined the

Ivorian Football Federation The Ivorian Football Federation (french: Fédération Ivoirienne de Football, FIF) is the governing body of football in Ivory Coast and is in charge of the Ivory Coast national team and other footballing matters in the country. The top teams ...

$47,000 following the enquiry into the stadium tragedy. Football's world governing body imposed a series of safety measures after concluding the long investigation. FIFA also announced a donation of $96,000 to a fund set up for the families of the victims. Earlier casualties at incidents at football matches in Africa included 127 people killed in 2001 in the AccraSports Stadium crowd stampede in Ghana, 11 people killed in rioting in September 2008 in the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, and eight crushed to death in June 2008 in Liberia.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houphouet-Boigny Arena Stampede Human stampedes in 2009 2009 in Ivorian football 2009 riots Football in Malawi Stadium disasters Man-made disasters in Malawi