CAPE TOWN – Former Kaizer Chiefs striker has recounted the events that occurred on this day 19 years ago when 43 football fans lost their lives during a mid-week Soweto Derby at Ellis Park Stadium.
In the first half of the clash between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, a crowd surged to gain seats to see the pitch leading to a stampede that saw 43 people crushed to death.
The game was called off when it became apparent that there had been a loss of life, and subsequent inquiries into the matter revealed that almost 120 000 tickets had been made available for the 60 000-seater stadium in the heart of Johannesburg.
Nomvethe, who played in the colours of Kaizer Chiefs that day, said the memory of the incident was heartbreaking.
“It is one disaster that I will never forget,” the striker, who retired from professional football last year at the age of 42, and who played for both clubs throughout his career, told the Kaizer Chiefs website.
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— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs)
“No oen would have expected something like that to happen. I still can’t believe this happened in our lifetime; it is terrifying to remember that night,” he said.
“This unfortunate disaster was a demonstration of much South Africans support their football and more specifically, the Soweto Derby,” he said.
“It showed how much people supprt and love the Soweto derby.”
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⚫⚪🔴⭐ #OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/8WktREXvsc
— Orlando Pirates FC (@orlandopirates)
He continued: “To date, I can still see agony in the eyes of everyone in the dressing room, that was when the message was delivered that a regrettable situation had occurred in the stadium…
“I had never seen so many people in and around the stadium – it was packed. We couldn’t drive out o the stadium… and that was when we started understanding the situation was really bad,” said Nomvethe.
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— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs)