Zamalek stadium disaster

Zamalek stadium disaster

Date	17 February 1974 (1974-02-17)
Location	Zamalek Stadium, Cairo, Egypt
Coordinates	30°3′31″N 31°12′13″E
Cause	Crowd crush
Deaths	at least 48
Non-fatal injuries	50

A crowd crush occurred on 17 February 1974 when fans were crushed before the kick-off of a football friendly match at the Zamalek Stadium in Cairo between Zamalek of Egypt and Dukla Prague of Czechoslovakia.^[1]

The total death toll is reported variously as 48,^[1] 49,^[2][3] or 50;^[4] 50 more were injured during this event.^[2]

Following a change of venue for the match, many supporters thought they would not be able to enter the newly chosen stadium (because the previously intended venue, Nasser Stadium, was much larger).^[2] There was a stampede,^[1][5] the walls crumbled,^[4] and many people were left dead. According to reports, up to 80,000 people tried to access the stadium, despite the capacity at the time being just 40,000.^[6]

References

1. Wilkes, Joseph A.; Packard, Robert T. (1989). Encyclopedia of architecture: design, engineering & construction. ISBN 9780471632443.
2. Murray, Bill; Murray, William J. (1998). The world's game: a history of soccer. ISBN 9780252067181.
3. Rohr, Bernd; Günter, Simon (2006). Fotbal - velký lexikon: osobnosti, kluby, názvosloví (in Czech). Prague: Grada Publishing. p. 143. ISBN 80-247-1158-3.
4. Goldblatt, David (2007). The ball is round: a global history of football. ISBN 9780141015828.
5. Nash, Jay Robert (1976). Darkest hours: a narrative encyclopedia of worldwide disasters from ancient times to the present. Nelson-Hall. zamalek 1974.
6. "La tragédie du Caire" [The tragedy of Cairo]. linternaute.com (in French). Retrieved 29 December 2012.