Wednesday, 19th February, 2025
Hon Dickson Kyere-Duah
Berekum West
Mr Speaker, I make this Statement as a result of the rising acts of vandalism and hooliganism at our various game centres and specifically, in relation to the Week 19 Premier League match played on the 2nd February, 2025 involving Nsoatreman FC and Kumasi Asante Kotoko FC, which resulted in the brutal stabbing to death of a Kotoko fan, Francis Nana Yaw Frimpong (a.k.a. Pooley).
Mr Speaker, football is a sport that unites us as a people. It is a game of passion that brings joy to millions of people across our nation. However, when that passion is tainted by violence, it ceases to be the beautiful game we all love. The events that unfolded before, during and after that Ghana Premier League game are not only despicable but a stain on the integrity of Ghanaian football and on our national character.
Mr Speaker, this tragic loss of life is not an isolated case but a part of a worrying trend of violence in our sports. About 24 years ago, on May 9, 2001, as a young sports journalist working at the University of Education Radio station, Radio Windy Bay in Winneba, I was in Accra Sports Stadium to cover a Ghana Premier League match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko. On that fateful day (Wednesday, May 9, 2001), Ghana recorded one of the most tragic events in its history when 127 football fans lost their lives as a result of football violence.
Mr Speaker, in the wake of this national calamity, the then President of the Republic, H.E. John Agyekum Kufour constituted a Commission of Inquiry (Accra Sports Stadium Disaster) Instrument, 2001, C.I. 34 to investigate the matter and made appropriate recommendations. Notwithstanding the far-reaching recommendations made to forestall future occurrences, football violence continues to plague the nation.
Mr Speaker, for example, Ghanaians were left dumbfounded when one of Ghana's top-rated female referees, Theresa Bremansu who officiated in the 2019 Women's Special Competition between Prisons Ladies and Ampem Darkoa Ladies was beaten to a pulp by football fans who claimed she did not add injury time after the 90 minutes elapsed.
Again, in 2020, a Kumasi Asante Kotoko fan, Augustine Oppong was shot in the eye when violence broke out in a game between Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Berekum Chelsea. Also, just two years ago, my very good friend, Mr Edmund Ackah, the General Manager of FC Samartex and other officials and players of FC Samartex were brutally assaulted in a Division One League match in Daboase against Sky FC.
Mr Speaker, despite all the education, reminders, sensitisation and sanctions aimed at eradicating hooliganism, the act continues to be a part of the Ghanaian game with many casualties frequently recorded. Mr Speaker, the situation calls for urgent action from all stakeholders— as Members of Parliament, we have a role to play, Government, football authorities, security agencies, clubs, and supporters—To work collectively to eradicate such barbaric acts from our game.
Mr Speaker, I am very happy to note that the new indefatigable Sports and Recreation Minister, Hon Kofi Adams has already swung into action. In his first day in office, he met the officials of the Football Federation to fashion out action plan to prevent future occurrences of such barbaric incidents in our stadiums. I am very confident, with Hon Kofi Adams, this canker will be dealt with once and for all.
Mr Speaker, I am also aware of the high-profile meeting the Inspector General of Police (IGP) held with the stakeholders of the football industry which produced 33 action points for implementation to curb hooliganism at our stadiums. Furthermore, I urge the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the National Sports Authority to put in place stringent security and safety measures to prevent such occurrences in the future. This includes enhanced security at stadiums, strict enforcement of disciplinary actions against violent conduct, and intensified public education on sportsmanship. In our beautiful game of football, there are only three results, either one wins, one loses or draws. A good sportsman would accept whatever results that comes their way.
Mr Speaker, at this grieving moment, permit me to extend my heartfelt deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. No family should endure such pain over a football match. I also call on all stakeholders to remain calm as the Ghana Police Service continues with their investigations to get to the bottom of the matter. Violence has no place in our football, and it has no place in Ghanaian society.
Let us all stand together to condemn this act and work together to ensure that our stadiums are safe for all.
I thank you for indulging me, Mr Speaker.
Hon Samuel Awuku
Akuapim North
Mr Speaker, I rise to contribute to the Statement made by the Hon Member for Berekum West. I would like to, first of all, extend my deepest condolences to the bereaved family and the deceased.
Mr Speaker, there are four things that excite and inflame passion within our society. These four things, for me, are football, religion, ethnic issues, and political issues. What is before us today is associated with football. In contributing to the Statement made by the Hon Colleague, I would like us to also situate the matter.
We cannot separate these acts of vandalism, hooliganism, and riotous behaviour of fans from poor officiating. If we cast our minds back to many of the issues around the world, any time there has been a huge disagreement among fans, at the heart of it has been a refereeing decision made in one way or the other.
I would like us to get the Referees Association of Ghana (RAG) and the football administration to also pay keen attention to bad or questionable officiating. I say this because in today's football world, it is no longer what it used to be under the good old days of Mr Wilberforce Mfum; “The Golden Boy”, Mr Abdul Razak, and others, where football was played just to excite or entertain people.
This time around, it has become a very commercial venture, and people get into these stands knowing very well and working out their odds on what they intend to achieve at the end of the day. I believe these acts of hooliganism are despicable, and it is about time we did not just pay lip service to these matters when they are raised, but also got the law enforcement agencies to also enforce the laws.
For me, one of the main issues that continues to agitate my mind has to do with the issue of siting drinking spots and bars around these stadia and sports facilities. The first issue is that one cannot enter the stadium with alcohol, but the people take it just before they enter; so, by the time they reach their peak, that is when the match is also at its height. We have to be clear on the modalities, guidelines, and what we can also have around the various sporting facilities.
Today, we have a colleague down. I am a non-repentant fan of the Asante Kotoko Sporting Club, but I also believe that in helping protect lives within the various precincts of our sports facilities, we have to look at the very things that are sited around it. Yes, we can have food joints, but the siting of some of these drinking bars is also a disturbance.
The second issue has to do with enhanced security within the stadium. In the various stands, apart from having people wearing security badges and uniforms, we can also have plainclothes security, and that is what many countries are using within their stadiums. Football is the passion of the nation. Wherever we have even small teams playing within our communities, we can see that the tension is always high. How much more when it has to do with league standings and the position of these teams on the various league tables?
Mr Speaker, while I commend my Colleague, with your kind direction, I would like to get the Minister for Sports and Recreation to pay keen attention to the issues of security, officiating and refereeing, and the siting of these drinking bars around the various stadia.
Hon Millicent Yeboah Amankwah
Sunyani West
Mr Speaker, I would like to contribute on the Statement made by the Hon Member for Berekum West on the unfortunate situation that happened in Nsoatre between the Asante Kotoko Sporting Club and the Nsoatreman Football Club. It happened in Nsoatre which is in my Constituency. I would like to extend my condolences to the entire family of the deceased.
Mr Speaker, on this note, we need to be very careful and put in better and proper measures when there are matches like this because we have supporters with different views and different levels of excitements. People communicate or express their excitements in different ways. With this unfortunate situation which happened in my constituency, which I believe should not happen in any constituency, the entire Ministry of Sports and Recreation, heads or owners, and management of football clubs should take this seriously and ensure that this does not happen again.
Mr Speaker, before any match takes place, I believe that we should have a risk assessment. This is because we need to make sure that the park or wherever they play these football games are well kept. There should be Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in cases of emergency, and proper security personnel. In addition, even military personnel could be added. I believe that if much concentration and monitoring is put in place and the situation is monitored well, I do not believe that these things would happen.
When this issue happened in my Constituency, it caused a lot of emergencies. If we look at where the Ghana Ambulance Service is located in Nsoatre—We could not even get an ambulance in this particular situation because the ambulance had gone far. It is rather unfortunate that my good Brother, father, and the former MP for Sunyani West—I was really worried because he is a senior Colleague of mine, and I share with him in this particular situation. I wish him well because this can happen to anybody. I pray that if measures are put in place, all these matters would reduce.
Mr Speaker, on the point of medical aid, we need to ensure that we have first aid in situations and places like this, so that measures can be taken as early as possible. Looking at the supporter of Asante Kotoko Sporting Club, if they had first aid available, it means that we could have found a way to save him as early as possible.
Mr Speaker, again, I would like to plead with the entire security and medical professionals as I did earlier, to have an emergency plan with sports teams in case such a situation happens.
So, that we will be able to help save lives and educate our fans on matters and how they should jubilate. Even the terrain that supporters need to—If we have to give them tickets and monitor the number of people in the stadiums so that there would not be a stampede at the park or the stadium, it would go a long way to help us.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity given to me.
Hon Kingsley Nyarko
Kwadaso
Mr Speaker, I am extremely grateful to you for the opportunity accorded me to make a brief comment on this sad Statement made by our Hon Brother.
Mr Speaker, it is so sad and painful for a life and a precious soul to be lost when that person was enjoying the sport or football.
Football is supposed to unite us. It is a source of enjoyment for most of us. If a person gets to watch a game of football, he would expect that his team wins. It beats my imagination how somebody, in the attempt to watch the beautiful game of football, should lose his life through violence. Mr Speaker, violence should not be allowed to fester in our society. We must understand that as human beings we cannot all belong to the same group or association. We cannot also think alike.
Society would be of no fun if we all belonged to the same society. There should be diversity in terms of ideas and belonging to associations. That is when we can see growth and progress.
What has happened is so sad, we need to condemn it and insist that an investigation into this barbaric act is expedited so that the culprits will face the full rigours of the law.
Indiscipline in this society is becoming one too many and we must halt it. Indiscipline anywhere is a threat to progress everywhere. We must come to the realisation that Ghana can thrive and be stronger when we understand that we have to be tolerant in all that we do. I am an Asante Kotoko Football club fan and I have been seeing images of this gentlemen, Pooley, and it can be seen that he is a vibrant supporter of Asante Kotoko. He loves the team; it is in his blood. He went to support his team but could not come back, and left behind a widow and children.
This is so sad and I am urging those who are heading sports in this country to be proactive in providing security, so that when a person goes to watch football or any sporting activity, the person would have at the back of his mind that he is safe and protected. This should not happen again. I want to console the widow and the children. This supporter should find solace in the bosom of his maker.
I also want to plead with our supporters to understand that in a game of football or any sporting activity, we cannot always expect to win. We can win, lose or draw. A game of football or any sporting activity is not a must win. When a team wins, they thank God and make merry. When they lose, they take it in their strides and understand that tomorrow might be an opportunity for them to also win.
I know that Asante Kotoko will come out of this stronger and better. I also hope that this unfortunate incident would serve as a bitter lesson for sports in Ghana moving forward.
Football and soccer should unite us. Let us educate each other to promote football and sports to bind us, not to kill us; bring us together, not to separate us because after all, we are the same people.
Mr Speaker, thank you for indulging me and may the soul of our brother, Pooley, and other sports loving persons who have lost their lives in such manners rest in perfect peace.
Hon Isaac Adongo
Bolgatanga Central
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. I want to commend the maker of the Statement.
Football is the passion of this country but this is just one too many. Today, we are discussing this unfortunate situation because it involves Asante Kotoko but, there have been series of such events in our country where supporters think that when they disagree, they must take the law into their hands. This should bring finality to such incidents in our football. Nobody should die following their passion. I understand the man left behind six children. This is a difficult situation for his family.
We need to take football a lot more seriously. The rules of football are not just the rules on the field. What are the protocols for making a football field fit for purpose? Not everywhere is fit for purpose. Where football is played in Ghana are what we call parks; they do not qualify to hold football matches. We must take the licensing of stadia important so that we will tick all the boxes to ensure that when people go to a stadium or football field, it is fit for purpose. So, we must begin to license our football fields. When we begin to do this, we would realise that many places, such as Nsoatreman, will not qualify to host football matches let alone for us to die the way we are dying.
I was sad to hear my Colleague mention that they were struggling to get basic first-aid. If there are no ambulances, people have no business playing football in such a field; that is a death trap.
I was sad to hear my Colleague mention that they struggled to get simple first-aid. If there are no ambulances, people have no business playing football in such a field; that is a death trap. But because when we go there nothing happens, we think that is a football field. No! What was the police situation at the football field? Where were the Police? What was the security requirement that was supposed to be upheld in the stadium. In this particular instance, the information we have is that this young man had been threatened prior to the match.
The security agency should have known that what happened to the young man could happen because he was accused of having made comments that did not go down well with the other club ahead of the match, and he was threatened. Yet, we allowed the football match to happen without security to protect this young man.
Mr Speaker, I would like to call on you to direct the Ministry of Sports and Recreation to take this matter very seriously, and if the Ghana Football Association (GFA) cannot follow rigorous protocols for licensing our football stadia, we should not play football as a country because football is a serious business and it is about life. Whether we like it or not, some people would be dissatisfied and may take the law into their hands.
Whether we like it or not, if we do not license stadia, we would have football fields that we play on that do not even have ambulances. Where the protocol requires over 40 policemen, a person may arrive at the stadium and only two policemen are there guiding and protecting scores of spectators. The end result is that people die needlessly, and we must not die following the passion of football.
Mr Speaker, I would like to call on this House to take on the GFA to properly make sure that before football returns, we are prepared in all respects and our football fields are fit for purpose. Currently, what we call football fields are just parks. They are just behaving like we do in our area, where one just calls neighbours across the road, when playing football. That is what is happening, and we cannot be doing that for people to die needlessly.
Mr Speaker, I commend the maker of the Statement, and I thank you for indulging me; except to say that this must not end with a talk show. We must see some action being taken to sanitise football in our country and ensure that our football fields are safe for purpose, so that we would not hear this conversation again any time soon.
Hon Kwadwo Damoah
Jaman South
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity given me to make a contribution to the Statement made by my Brother, the Hon Member for Berekum West.
Mr Speaker, what happened was an unfortunate incident and it is very regrettable. I also want to add my voice to express our condolences to the bereaved family and the Asante Kotoko fraternity.
Mr Speaker, the earlier contributors have said various things and I wish to just add a few things. I want to look at the issue from the point of view of education, sensitisation, and capacity building for the various stakeholders in the management of football in our dear country. Now, football has rules, and people need to be educated on those rules. As the maker of the Statement said, there are only three results that we can expect after any football match, that is either you win, draw, or lose, and the various teams know about this.
The supporters know about that, but because of the passion we have for football, in some cases, people find it difficult to accept defeat. But if we effectively sensitise and educate the various stakeholders and have leadership by way of football administrators and management of the various teams that play the football matches, and leadership by way of supporters, so that at any stage in the match, they take responsibility and make the appropriate appeals to their supporters and to their members, we may be able to prevent some of these unfortunate incidents.
Now, we are talking about security. Security is a shared responsibility. It is a shared responsibility between the teams that would play the matches, National Sports Authority (NSA), the Ghana Football Administration (GFA), and the supporters as well. I may want to recommend that, before matches are played, the various teams would plan the security arrangements for these matches and agree, depending on the expectations of attendance at these matches.
We have categorised our teams and there are matches that are categorised as category A. Of course, whenever Asante Kotoko S. C. or Accra Hearts of Oak S. C. is playing any match against any other team, the expectation is that there would be more spectators than the other teams and, therefore, security arrangements would have to be beefed up.
Now, I also think that we have to emphasise on capacity building. We need to train and continue to train our referees. We need to train and continue to train our sports administrators, the leadership, and everybody, so that as the rules of the game change, we would be abreast of them and accept that, during football matches, it is only the referee whose decisions are final.
The referee is a human being and is fallible, so he may make mistakes, but once he takes a decision, whether it goes in a team’s favour or against them, they have no option than to accept it. When that happens, that is where we want leaders to take responsibility. They should appeal to their teams, players, and supporters that, once the decision has been taken by the referee, they cannot change that decision unless through an appeal. We need to do that continuous training and capacity building for the various stakeholders in football administration.
Once again, I also want to make a recommendation on the need to have well-resourced medical teams at the various stadia when football matches are being played. Depending on the categorisation of a particular match, the appropriate and well-resourced medical team should be available. So that, in the event of unfortunate incidents of this type that happened at Nsoatre, we would have professionals with appropriate resources to deal with the matter; so that, we may do our best by way of first aid before we convey the victims or casualties to the appropriate medical facilities.
On that note, I wish to highly commend the maker of the Statement. I know he is a football administrator and he really knows and understands sports in general, and would help the various stakeholders to find solutions to this unfortunate incident and make appropriate recommendations.
Mr Speaker, I would also like to thank you for the opportunity given me to make this little contribution towards this unfortunate incident that happened in my region and in the constituency of my Sister at the other Side.
Hon Ayariga Mahama
Bawku Central
Mr Speaker, I thank you very much.
Mr Speaker, I think that, as a Parliament, we should, at all times, condemn all forms of violence at our stadia during football matches. Colleagues have already indicated strongly that these matches are for pleasure and entertainment, and they are to bring us together. So, they should not end with people losing lives, limbs, and properties being damaged. That is not the objective.
Indeed, Mr Speaker, we should appreciate that sports, beyond just being entertainment, has become a major economy contributing enormously to the GDPs of some countries. Here in Ghana, on weekends, when you see the number of people who troop home to watch the European League, the Spanish League, and all these foreign leagues, it is amazing. When one sits with business people and have conversations about leisure, it would amaze us the number of people who fly to Europe and the United Kingdom just to watch a match. And these matches become meeting places where major deals are concluded.
Mr Speaker, if we see the extent to which the media has developed in those countries and sports coverage has become a major source of revenue for those countries, then we would know that it is not a place to throw stones at each other. It is not a place where we go intending that at the end of the match, we would beat the referee. It is not a place we go planning that we would scatter the place at the end of the match if our team does not win. It is a place where as a district and region, we must plan for it because the transport sector would benefit from the people who would travel there.
When they get to the place, those who would be selling food and other items and the women in our regions and districts would benefit. The hotels that would host them would benefit, so the regional, municipal, and district security councils must accept these as major important events they must plan for and make sure that no match results in violence in their municipality. They should also encourage those matches to take place so more can be earned, we can entertain the people and keep them happy.
Mr Speaker, indeed, if we observed early on, I was sitting with the Minister for Sports and Recreation. He was hoping to be here to comment on this Statement because I had given him some indication, but he had to run back to his Ministry to defend his budget because the Minister for Finance is putting together his budget. In our discussions, he indicated that as part of the 24-Hour Economy strategy, sports is going to be a major cornerstone—
Mr Speaker, the Minister for Sports and Recreation has a major agenda to revive sports, to revive football from the district to the regional level, and at the national level.
Mr Speaker, the Minister is already holding meetings with the media to see how we can project sports. Indeed, he has revealed to me that he is looking to negotiate for Super Sports and others to begin to cover our local leagues—This is because when the local leagues are covered by Super Sports, what it means is that people in South Africa can see our boys and girls play from there, and they can begin to identify and scout for those people. When the footballers see that their tournaments are covered on Super Sports, they know that a global platform is being provided them to showcase their skills, so that scouts all over the world can view and try to recruit them to their various countries.
Also, he is going to invest and get support and sponsorship for the various teams in the regions, so that they can have good coaches and support to be able to compete effectively, train, recruit and retain very good footballers, buy very good players, and upgrade the quality of our local league, so that people would really like to go and watch our leagues, instead of choosing to sit at home to watch the European leagues.
Mr Speaker, when this happens, I believe our people would begin to appreciate the fact that football is a big thing. It is not a place to throw stones or fight at the end of a match because when we do that, we are destroying the economy of the district, municipality, and, ultimately, the region. The Regional Ministers and Municipal Chief Executives would begin to see that football is a major enabler of their economies and, therefore, they must pay attention. The entire governance framework within the district, municipality and the region would be geared towards ensuring that any match that is being played every weekend, ends up successfully and does not end up with the image of the municipality or district being dented.
Mr Speaker, let me conclude by saying that with the 24-Hour Economy strategy football is going to be a major enabler, and very soon, we would see it. Very soon, our local leagues would replace the European leagues. I thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
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