Senegal shining light in dark year

2001-12-31 08:58

Johannesburg - African football has never experienced a more tragic year than 2001 with the abiding memory being rows of blanket-covered bodies lying on dew-tinged pitches.

In Accra, the death toll was 126; in Johannesburg 43; in Lubumbashi seven; and in Abidjan one as a mix of undisciplined fans, corrupt ticket sellers and trigger-happy police brought shame to the most popular sport on the continent.

"Greed, incompetence and thoughtlessness - there in a nutshell are the causes of 177 deaths," lamented Emmanuel Maradas, the doyen of African football writers.

"The Johannesburg disaster was born of systematic corruption with more tickets being sold than there were seats available," said the Chad-born journalist noted for his fiercely independent views.

He did not spare the Ghanaian police, either.

"Poorly paid forces of public order in Ghana have been transformed into trigger-happy agents of repression," he said of men who bore the brunt of the blame after a government inquiry.

A probe into the Johannesburg disaster drags on and on, with President Thabo Mbeki expected to receive early in the new year the findings of a judicial inquiry.

Mayhem in Johannesburg

No football match in South Africa arouses greater passion than a clash between long-standing Johannesburg giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. And when they met last April, crucial championship points were at stake.

The bad habits of South African football supporters were much in evidence around the Ellis Park rugby stadium on the outskirts of the city centre as the evening kick-off approached.

Thousands of fans descended on the area just before the scheduled start, expecting to park their car, buy a ticket, and find a seat within a few minutes. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

Tragedy was miraculously averted on many previous occasions when these clubs met or the national team had an important engagement, but on the warm, clear evening of April 11, luck ran out for South African football.

With the stadium packed, the game under way, and thousands stranded outside, ticket sellers reportedly took advantage of impatient fans and sold tickets for seats already filled.

Steel security fences tumbled and turnstiles were flattened while 1 200 security personnel and 200 police watched helpless. The ensuing crush claimed male and female victims of all age groups.

As the horror was relived during the following days within the thick black borders of newspaper pages, many wondered how it could have happened and some recalled lessons long forgotten.

A 1991 pre-season friendly between Chiefs and Pirates in Orkney, a mining town west of Johannesburg, claimed 42 lives after fighting erupted between rival supporters.

South African officials do, finally, appear to have lifted their heads from the sand, imposing crowd limits for major games, banning the sale of tickets on match days, and boosting security inside and outside grounds.

Tragedy hits Ghana

Another clash between long-standing club rivals, Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko, at the Accra Sports Stadium in Ghana on May 9 led to the biggest tragedy in African football.

After equalising from what appeared to be an offside position, Hearts won the match with another Ishmael Addo goal and Kotoko supporters went berserk, flinging chairs and other objects on the field.

Police reacted by firing canister after canister of tear gas at fleeing fans trapped by locked exit gates. Dozens suffocated to death and many others died of broken bones.

It was a similar story in the southern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Lubumbashi. Unhappy fans throwing missiles and police reacting with tear gas. When an exit gate collapsed, fans at the front were trampled to death.

Senegal surprise

As sadness and anger seeped deep into the fabric of African football, there were some happy tales, none more so than the shock qualification of Senegal for the 2002 World Cup.

In the same group as favourites Morocco and ambitious Egypt, a team not ranked among the top 10 in Africa finished top on goal difference from Morocco with Egypt two points behind.

While the Lions of Senegal epitomised teamwork, two figures stood out. French coach Bruno Metsu, 47, looked like a leftover from Woodstock with his long locks and suspect dress sense.

Striker Al-Hadji Diouf from French club Lens also caught the eye with his hair dyed blond, and he did have fun, scoring hat-tricks against Algeria and Namibia and the winner when Morocco visited Dakar.

That Senegal will tackle defending champions France in the opening match of World Cup finals on May 31 in South Korea is a fitting reward for Metsu and a squad liberally laced with players who perform in various French leagues.

Nigeria needed a last-round victory over Ghana to overtake Liberia, and end legendary striker George Weah's hopes of ever appearing in the world's premier football competition, in the other qualifying group to generate excitement while Cameroon, South Africa and Tunisia coasted to second consecutive appearances at the world showpiece.

The 2002 African Nations Cup qualifying competition produced few surprises with Angola and Zimbabwe the only leading countries failing to make it to the 16-team championship in Mali next month.

Angola finished third behind Algeria and Burkina Faso while Zimbabwe once again snatched failure from the jaws of success, losing at home to Ghana and away to DR Congo.

In regional competitions, a shadow Senegal side won the Amilcar Cabral Cup with hosts Mali a disappointing third and Ethiopia upset Kenya in the East and Central Africa Senior Challenge Cup final.

Young striker Flavio Amado struck a late second-leg goal to bring the Castle Cup Southern Africa championship back to Angola after a one-year absence at the expense of title-holders Zimbabwe.

Egyptian club Al-Ahly won the African Champions League and a record $1-million prize, Kaizer Chiefs became the first South African holders of the Cup Winners Cup, and JS Kabylie of Algeria retained the CAF Cup.

Africa impressed again in age-limit competitions with Ghana and Egypt second and third respectively behind hosts Argentina in the world youth championship.

An equally impressive showing at the world junior championship in Trinidad and Tobago saw Nigeria take the silver medals and Burkina Faso the bronze. France won the 16-nation tournament. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA