ZIFA President speaks on Stadium Chaos

The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has expressed its gratitude to the thousands of supporters who thronged the giant National Sports stadium to cheer the warriors to victory against Congo and their subsequent qualification to the 2019 Egypt Total  Africa Cup of Nations finals.

The Warriors qualified for their fourth Africa Cup of Nations following a win over Congo Brazzaville in a Group G qualifying match played at the National Sports Stadium Sunday.

However the victory was overshadowed by the sad loss of life following the death of a female fan in a stampede before kick off.

“Our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of a Warriors supporter who lost her life at the National Sports Stadium on 24 March,” said the ZIFA President Felton Kamabo.

“We cannot imagine what those she left behind are going through in this difficult moment of grief. The death of our supporter saddens us as the mother body because we will never have her support at our matches again.

“The ZIFA Leadership yesterday (Monday)  visited the family of the deceased  to commiserate with the family .

ZIFA has also contributed towards the funeral expenses of the deceased supporter.

Stampeding at entry points has become a threat that may scare away passionate supporters from our stadia and ZIFA has promised to investigate the reasons behing the chaos.

“As an association, we shall exhaustively investigate factors behind the stampede on 24 March.It is concerning when lives are lost at events that are supposed to be celebratory and entertainment oriented.

“We apologise for the mayhem at the point of entry. We wish speedy recovery to the injured.We shall also continue to improve our admission systems at entry points so that fans can enter the stadium more swiftly to avert long queues,” said Kamambo.