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

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

before a

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...

match between

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

and

. Nineteen people were killed and 135 were injured. In an attempt to control a

crowd crush Crowd collapses and crowd crushes are catastrophic incidents that can occur when a body of people becomes dangerously overcrowded. When numbers are up to about five people per square meter, the environment may feel cramped but manageable; when nu ...

, police fired

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...

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 Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...

, Sol Bamba and Salomon Kalou 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 held a crisis meeting with ministers and football officials on 30 March to discuss the tragedy. FIFA President

Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...

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, and 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 $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 (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, and eight crushed to death in June 2008 in

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houphouet-Boigny Arena Stampede Human stampedes in 2009 2009 in Ivorian football 2009 riots Football in Malawi Crowd collapses and crushes in stadiums Man-made disasters in Malawi March 2009 in Africa