The Oppenheimer Stadium disaster, or Orkney Disaster, at the Oppenheimer Stadium in the city of

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

( from

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

) in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

North West province North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng and south of Botswana. History North West was incorporated after the end of Apartheid in 1994, an ...

was the second-worst sporting incident in South African history, with 42 deaths. On 13 January 1991, there was a preseason "

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

match between

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Chie ...

and

Orlando Pirates F.C. Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DSt ...

The stadium had a capacity of 23,000, but about 30,000 fans were admitted and were not separated according to the team they supported. The referee upheld a goal scored by the Chiefs, and supporters of the Pirates objected. Pirates fans threw cans and fruit at Chiefs fans, and allegedly some knife-wielding Pirates fans attacked Chiefs fans. As panicking fans tried to escape the brawls were trampled or crushed to death against riot-control fences. The worst sporting incident in South Africa, the

Ellis Park Stadium disaster The Ellis Park Stadium disaster was a crowd crush that occurred on 11 April 2001, claiming the lives of 43 people. Surpassing the Oppenheimer Stadium disaster, it became the worst sporting accident in South African history. Spectators poured into ...

in 2001, involved fans of the same two teams.

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* {{coord, -26.946, 26.711, type:event_globe:earth_region:ZA, display=title Human stampedes in 1991 Stadium disasters Man-made disasters in South Africa 1991 in South Africa 1991 in South African sport Sport in North West (South African province) Soccer in South Africa Kaizer Chiefs F.C. Orlando Pirates F.C. Association football controversies

See also

References

External links