It’s only been 13 years since Africa’s most shocking stadium disaster. Now that very stadium is called a “death trap” by supporters, who are appealing to authorities to take action immediately.

During his statement before the Justice Senyo Dzamefe Presidential Commission of Inquiry, President of the National Supporters Union addressed the issue of Accra Sports Stadium’s poor state. The national stadium of Ghana is, according to Aziz Haruna Futah, a “death trap”.

“My Lord just go round the Accra Sports Stadium now, and you will see how weak the stadium has become. […] It has become a death trap and most of us are in great danger, because this is where we come every day”, said Futah. He warned authorities that without proper action another “national calamity” is bound to happen.

Accra Sports Stadium already is the site of Africa’s most tragic stampede. In 2001 at this very stadium 127 people were killed. That disaster wasn’t caused by the stadium’s state, rather by poor safety management and reckless police actions.

In recent years a series of renovations were carried out. Most notably in 2007, when a complex redevelopment and expansion took place ahead of AFCON 2008. However, most of the stands date back many years, nearly half a century.

And as the contractor of more recent works described in 2013, the biggest problem of this and many more African stadia is neglect of regular maintenance. This causes African stadia to age much faster than with proper care.