I have watched in horror.
I have read with anguish.
I have listened in disbelief.
And now, I write with outrage.
The tragic death of Nana Pooley is not an isolated incident. It is the culmination of unchecked hooliganism, political arrogance, law enforcement incompetence, and systemic failure. It is a crime that exposes the sheer recklessness with which certain individuals wield power, how easily violence is incited, and how the institutions meant to protect citizens crumble when duty calls.
This was not an accident.
This was not fate.
This was murder—a deliberate act of rage, incitement, and indifference.
A passionate football fan set out to do what thousands of Ghanaians do every weekend—support his beloved club.
He never returned home.
He was stabbed to death in broad daylight, his life snuffed out in a stadium where football, not bloodshed, should have been the spectacle.
Yet, the hands that wielded the knife were not alone in this crime.
This was an act made possible by the collective failure of an entire system.
A LEADER WHO INCITED BLOODSHED
At the heart of this tragedy stands a former minister, a former MP, a man once entrusted with power. A man whose ego was too fragile to endure the perceived slight of a football supporter.
Witnesses claim he incited the crowd, pointing fingers, fuelling tension, and setting in motion a deadly chain of events. His personal bodyguard, a known figure in his inner circle, is alleged to have delivered the fatal blow—an act committed with the confidence of someone who believed they would never face consequences.
What kind of leadership is this?
What kind of failed democracy allows a man to sit in public office and yet wield power like a feudal lord, marking people for elimination over petty grievances?
But perhaps he knew something we did not.
Perhaps he knew that the institutions meant to check his actions would do nothing.
NSOATREMAN FC: A CLUB BUILT ON FEAR, NOT FOOTBALL
This is not an isolated incident for Nsoatreman FC.
The club’s home grounds have long been a theatre of intimidation, a place where opposing fans and teams step into a cauldron of hostility and aggression.
This is not football.
This is warfare disguised as sport.
For years, complaints about their supporters’ actions have been ignored.
For years, acts of violence and intimidation have gone unpunished.
For years, their home region has been marked as a danger zone for visiting fans and teams.
Yet, the Ghana Football Association has watched in silence, their inaction allowing hooliganism to fester.
Where were they when football became a battlefield?
Where were they when visiting teams feared for their safety?
Where were they when Nsoatreman FC turned the game into a death trap?
Their silence is complicity. Their inaction is betrayal.
A POLICE SERVICE THAT FAILED TO SERVE
The police knew.
They knew the risks.
They knew the reputation of the home fans.
They knew what could happen.
Yet, they did nothing.
There was no significant security presence at the game.
There were no preventative measures in place.
There was no attempt to maintain order until it was too late.
And then, when tragedy struck, they failed again.
As Nana Pooley lay dying, gasping for breath, the officers present stood helpless, clueless, unprepared.
Not a single officer knew what to do.
Not a single officer attempted to save him.
Not a single officer provided first aid.
What kind of law enforcement watches a man bleed to death and does nothing?
Shame on them.
WHERE WERE THE MEDICS? WHERE WAS THE AMBULANCE?
In moments like these, emergency response teams exist to save lives. But when Nana Pooley needed them most, they were nowhere to be found.
The ambulance driver had vanished.
The medical personnel assigned to the stadium were missing.
A stadium that hosts thousands of fans had no functional emergency response team when a life was at stake.
Instead, his helpless friends, grieving and confused, had to watch him die.
Instead, a man who could have been saved was left to bleed out while those responsible abandoned their duty.
This is not incompetence.
This is criminal negligence.
THE GFA: A SPINELESS REGULATOR THAT HAS FAILED GHANAIAN FOOTBALL
And then, there is the Ghana Football Association, the governing body that should have acted long before this tragedy happened.
Their failure is undeniable.
Their inaction is indefensible.
How did Ghanaian football reach this point?
How did our stadiums become places of death, violence, and unchecked hooliganism?
The GFA had every opportunity to ensure that stadiums were safe for fans.
They had every reason to clamp down on the culture of violence that has festered within some clubs.
They had every right to enforce strict punishments on teams that allow their home grounds to become war zones.
Yet, they have done absolutely nothing.
And now, Nana Pooley is dead.
And yet again, the GFA will likely issue a half-hearted statement, hold a meaningless meeting, and move on as if nothing happened.
They have failed the game, the fans, the country.
They are a disgrace to Ghanaian football.
A DEMAND FOR JUSTICE
This cannot be another forgotten tragedy.
This cannot be swept under the rug like so many before it.
We demand:
A full criminal investigation into the actions of the former minister. The immediate arrest and prosecution of the alleged killer. A lifetime stadium ban for every individual involved in the attack. A suspension of Nsoatreman FC from hosting home matches. An overhaul of the GFA’s approach to fan safety and stadium security.
If Ghanaian football continues to tolerate this kind of violence, if our institutions continue to turn a blind eye, then we are digging graves, not building a sport.
For Nana Pooley.
For every fan who just wanted to love the game.
For every Ghanaian who still believes in justice.
We will not be silent.
