Kaizer Chiefs legend Gardner Seale has broken his silence about that fateful day in 1991 when 42 football supporters lost their lives at the Oppenheimer Stadium in Orkney during a Soweto Derby clash between Amakhosi and Orlando Pirates.
13 January 2026 marked exactly 35 years since the tragedy, and Seale unpacked how the stampede unfolded as he watched on from the Chiefs bench.
“I remember the day; we were playing Pirates. I wasn’t physically part of the team because I was with an elbow injury and couldn’t participate in the game,” he exclusively told the Chiefs website.
“We drove to the stadium after our pre-match meal. On the route, I noticed it was jam-packed with people. I was sitting in the stands at the start of play. I could see there was quite a bit of pushing and shoving in the packed stands, and we moved to join the guys on the bench. Only a few minutes after that, the game stopped, and then was abandoned. It was then that I realised that the people pushing each other were trying to escape the pressure from the stands being overcrowded.
“On our way back from the stadium we heard that some people had been killed. It was a big shock to us, and it has remained with me ever since. I still struggle to come to terms with the fact that people lost their lives going to a football match.
“My condolences go to the families of all those who perished, and also to those who were injured. I am still bleeding, and I know when the day comes up next year, I will get the same feeling I have had for 35 years.”
Both Chiefs and Pirates posted commemorative posts on their respective social media channels to remember the fallen football loving supporters on that dark day.
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