Zimbabwe Football Association has confirmed the sudden death of a female fan following a stampede outside of the National Stadium in Harare ahead of Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier clash against Congo.
Zimbabwe confirm fan death in crowd stampede at AFCON match https://t.co/rn6oSTu3Yy The fan died when crowds pushed to enter an African Nations Cup qualifying match. The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has confirmed the death of a female fan in a stampede outside the Natio… pic.twitter.com/Fipcjcze50
— Gitartha Sarma (@Gtrth07) March 25, 2019
According to local media reports, Mai Tadiwa was killed outside an entry gate as impatient fans pushed to enter the stadium amid poor crowd control for what was a vital match for the home side.
People queuing to get in the Stadium. There was a lot of stampede leading to the death of one woman https://t.co/dF8KC0yRTo#TheFeedZW
— #BalanceForBetter (@TheFeedZW) March 25, 2019
cc @online_zifa pic.twitter.com/kIAk067oGI
“Our heartfelt condolences go to the family and friends of a Warriors supporter who passed on after being trampled on at the Warriors match yesterday,” ZIFA said in a statement on Monday.
“We shall continue to work towards making our admission processes at entry points more swift so that recurrence of such unfortunate events can be avoided.”
I have tried in vain to get the attention of Ministry of Sports, Zifa et all regarding events safety management. Zimbabwe need that, stampede is unacceptable. I am ready to help. This is my daily bread in South Africa. https://t.co/V48cg4GVHk
— PHS Consultancy Pty Ltd (@PersonnelPty) March 25, 2019
Crowd control at stadia across Africa is often haphazard, the situation exacerbated by the fraudulent sale of fake tickets for key games that increases the number of people seeking to enter the venues well above the capacity.
Good Morning Egypt!!! @online_zifa @CAF_Online pic.twitter.com/Q5S0Cru1yk
— ManUtd Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 (@ManUtdZim) March 24, 2019
The match went ahead despite the tragedy, with Zimbabwe winning 2-0 to seal their place at the continental finals in Egypt in June and July.
This goal made my day!!! Well done warriors, all the best! Tapinda Tapinda!! 🇿🇼🤗👏🏽👏🏽 #ZimCongoBra #zifa #ZimbabweWarriors #AFCONQualifier pic.twitter.com/B4WXP8Sgl8
— rufaro (@lissamuchie) March 24, 2019