The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has confirmed the death of a female fan in a stampede outside the National Stadium in Harare ahead of Sunday’s African Nations Cup qualifier against Congo.
Local media reports said Mai Tadiwa was killed outside an entry gate as fans pushed to enter the stadium amid poor crowd control.
“Our heartfelt condolences go to the family and friends of a Warriors supporter who passed on after being trampled on at the Warriors match yesterday,” ZIFA said in a statement on Monday.
“We shall continue to work towards making our admission processes at entry points swifter so that recurrence of such unfortunate events can be avoided.”
Crowd control problems at stadia in Africa can often be exacerbated by the fraudulent sale of fake tickets for key games, increasing the number of people seeking to enter venues to well above the capacity.
The match went ahead despite the tragedy, Zimbabwe winning 2-0 to seal their place at the continental finals in Egypt this summer.