Chiefs and Pirates remember Orkney Stadium disaster

Today marks 32 years since 42 people lost their lives during a match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at the Orkney Stadium.

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The incident happened on 13 January 1991.

According to reports, a scuffle between Chiefs and Pirates fans broke out when Chiefs scored a goal, and the fans started throwing objects at each other , with some reports claiming that there were also knives involved.

The main reason of the deaths, however, was because of a stampede that began as fans tried to make their way into the stadium in order to get away from the ongoing clashes at the 23 000 capacity stadium.

It has also been claimed that during that time of the incident, there weren’t enough security personnel at the ground to control the crowds, which eventually led to adding more numbers to the stadium than it was required.

In remembering the day, the Buccaneers put a reminder of the disaster on their Twitter with the words “We shall never forget”.

Amakhosi, on the other side, shared posted a message of thought to the friends and family of the fans who lost their lives on that day.

“We pause today to remember the Amakhosi and football fans who lost their lives in the Orkney disaster at the Oppenheimer Stadium on 13 January 1991. Our thoughts as always are with their families as we continue to keep them in prayer,” wrote the club.